Mastodawn

[Repost] Clean YouTube links. When you get a link from YT, it includes an ID tracking back to YOU. It's a "query string" on the end of the URL like this:
...?si=[tracker_ID_here]

This ID allows YouTube (and their owner, Google, and *their* owner, Alphabet, and ALL of their associates) to track the people who click on the link, and the apps they used, back to you, building a network of none-of-their-business.

Good news: DELETE the "?si=..." part & the link works just fine without the tracking.

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Andy Linton 🇮🇪

✅Feb 1

@VisualStuart

I run an extension on the various Firefox instances I use called ClearURLs which cleans those up.

I also use NewPipe on my Android phone to view YouTube. It doesn't add those suffixes.

There are other options I'm sure.

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Stuart Celarier ❌👑Feb 2

@artnacrea Yeah, I am aware of such browser extensions. I am extra cautious about using or recommending browser extensions only because they are difficult to vet and pose security vulnerabilities. That's just me.

Absolutely. There's a tradeoff in all these options. I'm willing to live the pluses and minuses but others may need to do things differently.

Caveat emptor!