PSA: If you share a YouTube video using the native share feature it now attaches your user ID (?si=xxxxxx) to the URL automatically.

YT likely does this to growth-hack DMs. When someone clicks on the link, YT can start a DM thread between you two automatically with this ID even if they found the link outside of the YT app.

If you post links publicly, I strongly recommend deleting the ID unless you want to post your user profile.

@Techaltar I'm guessing if you paste the link to any chat before deleting the share id, the thumbnail loads automatically for most messaging apps you are already identified and profiled...
@champingsajt @Techaltar To avoid this tracking you should check your privacy settings and turn off link preview generator. Not sure about other platforms but whatsapp and telegram both allows to turn it off.
@mkitos @champingsajt @Techaltar signal also have this feature to turn off preview