Dare Obasanjo

YouTube will no longer show recommendations if you disable watch history.

This both makes the connection clearer that the recommendations are based on what you’ve previously watched and not some “nefarious algorithm” and continues big tech’s march to please the EU’s anti-algorithm demands.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/08/youtube-update-homepage-watch-history/

TechCrunch is part of the Yahoo family of brands

Aug 8, 2023 at 8:24pmWeb
Show thread~robbyAug 8, 2023
@carnage4life I hope this is also the case while logged out. It will make youtube.com slightly more bearable. I already disable recommendations using NewPipe when I'm on Android.
YouTube

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Show threadfelixAug 8, 2023

@carnage4life Depends on what you previously watched, yes, and whether those videos were targeted by nasty people to sway the recommendations towards radicalising content.

A big problem is that the youtube algos seem to be fragile to black hat optimisation.

Show thread❓ucblockheadAug 8, 2023
@carnage4life my biggest problem with YouTube’s recommendations is that it appears to recommend only based on the last few videos you watched. It has a massive recency bias.
Show threadSkand HurkatAug 8, 2023
@carnage4life but that's exactly what they want you to think! /s
Show threadJackAug 8, 2023
@carnage4life you do realize that an algorithm that is based on watch history is still an algorithm and that it can still be skewed just as easily as if it didn't factor in watch history?
Show threadAnders EknertAug 8, 2023

@funkyduck @carnage4life the big tech narrative is that anything even remotely based on your actions frees them entirely from any type of accountability.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/youtube-recommends-violent-gun-related-content-for-young-users/ar-AA1bhnQF

MSN

Show threadKelly StannardAug 8, 2023
@carnage4life I downvote and scroll every Joe Rogan video that comes up on shorts and yet I still get a boat load of Joe Rogan and other conservative bloviators on shorts.
Show threadwinterAug 9, 2023
@kwstannard @carnage4life Downvoting is still "engagement". You gotta click the three dots and select "don't show me content like this" or whatever the option is. Do that several times and YouTube should take the hint. Hopefully.
Show threadpurpl3f0xsecur1tyAug 9, 2023
@carnage4life I've noticed that for quite a while. Mostly because if I watch 1 video from a new channel I haven't viewed content from in the past, YT will shove about 10 of their videos into my recommended lol
Show threadPepijn SchmitzAug 9, 2023
@carnage4life What were they based on then, when you disabled watch history previously?
Show threadMaciekAug 9, 2023
@carnage4life this proves nothing about how the recommendation algorithm works.
Show threadRenee DiRestaAug 10, 2023
@carnage4life tbf they changed things quite a bit around 2019. I got a lot of recos of pretty extreme stuff that was not based on my own previous watches in years prior. I think the complaints persist somewhat unfairly since that shift did matter, but they could do better on the transparency front.
Show threaddawidAug 10, 2023

@carnage4life I wish recommendations were based more on the video I'm currently watching. It's just the same videos as on the front page but in a different format.

I remember watching YouTube back in 2007 and just going down rabbit holes, browsing the site like it was actually a *web*site of interconnected content. Only Wikipedia provides that feeling now.