Topic: KYC is expanding to YouTube. How wrecked is digital privacy? (Read 426 times)

its their own choise we dont need youtube urgently for living as we dont nee any of those facebook or twitter.

we just dont need youtube then its simple. or if they need my data then let them have it what do i care its just data nothing special about data

No, it is not necessary. There already is a YouTube for Kids app which should cover the said videos that are oriented for more mature audiences. Demanding KYC is something that does not have to do with these videos in my opinion.

 - USA, EU are looking to build backdoors in encrypted messaging apps;
 - Baltimore police want to use war-zone surveillance system on citizens;
 - Mississippi police wants access to home security cameras live feed;
 - Microsoft is developing a workplace surveillance system;
 - YouTube is adding KYC to videos...

All of the above happened in 2020. And there are many, many more. Like... excuse me but where the fuck are we heading. This is not a fight against criminality; it's a fight against freedom.

Truely, there has been lots of copy cats and also videos that requires the age limit which the owner failed to provide proper description of what the video entails. there are so many exposure on the internet and Youtube is one of the place where such can be found. the KYC is necessary but we might not know what else the information collected might be use for.

I don't think I'm a criminal/scammer/deceiver and I feel very threatened by these "updates". The worst part is, now that these KYC-like things come to even some of the top platforms in the world such as YouTube, it basically forces me to look for alternatives.

Spyware made me move to burner phones; proprietary software/hardware made me move to RYF-certified devices (although not 100% free as in freedom either); bank surveillance and control made me move to Bitcoin; ISP activity tracing made me move to Tor; etc.

In other words, the further they move on with these new laws and regulations, the more I have to look like a weirdo/"hacker"/"criminal" in order to stick to my old ways of peacefully surfing the web without having to be controlled/supervised.

So it is, everything goes to ensure that all people are identified on the Internet and each person is assigned his own id. Thus, in the future, every step and spoken word will be recorded on the Internet and can be tracked. For decent people, this is not such a great threat as for scammers, deceivers, etc.

I would not think this way. If there's no difference if they'll ask for KYC or not because we have no privacy, we may as well let Google take random pictures from our front & back phone cameras while we're sitting on the toilet - or anything else that involves them intruding our private life. There's no privacy anyway, right?

When you see there's no privacy anymore, you have to fight for it. You don't let yourself be defeated. This is how I take it. I can't let Google just get more and more into my private life with every little step they make just because they've shown they truly don't give a fuck about our personal lives.

In my opinion, this is for the good of the kids. They are not being supervised by their parents 24/7 and this restriction will avoid them from going to sites that are not appropriate to their age. I do agree that we don't have privacy anymore by even using google account. So there's really no big difference if they will ask for KYC in YT.

Our privacy is almost non existence if you are using google accounts anyway. They can already trace you through your IP, phone numbers etc. I think they motive behind the KYC is reasonable as they are also trying to ensure that minor don't have access to certain age restricted content.

Truly digital privacy is being tampered with but it was long time coming.

Yup, I'm aware of that. There was a video about a guy that even recorded his own search getting picked up through his microphone although there were no apps actively using it at that time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBnDWSvaQ1I

But to think about it, aren't the services you subscribed to have already sold your data for legal/ UX reasons a long time ago? That's when the TOS and Privacy Policy come in, but most, if not all of us hardly bother going through. Nevertheless, we just "agreed" and registered.

Google is pretty much Google; your data has definitely been sold to third-parties at some point. Even by using YouTube without being logged in, the user is still being tracked (a warning when using DDG).

However IMHO, there are times when functionality is rather feasible at the cost of some security. That's how eCommerce learns about every customer's preferences and in return, it enhances our shopping experience and make things easier.

In the end, to each his own. For me. Google has saved me lots of time by providing relevant info when I used the search bar a bazillion times daily.

Privacy is under attack.

I personally am thinking of switching over to Tor to keep some kind of privacy.
The EU thing where they wanna demand access to all encrypted services with a master key is fucking insane.

Fuck the EU.

Nice try Google, you don't get my creditcard number!

Since when has Youtube adult videos anyway? It's not as if they're competing with NSFW, which doesn't ask for anything before showing everything. The main problem my kids have is watching Youtube videos in weird languages, but they don't give the option to only show selected languages.

Just because DuckDuckGo didn't deliver the search results as equivalent to Google, it doesn't mean Google is superior to DDG. Google's algorithm is such that, they track the previous search history of a user and provide search results and advertisements based on that. Then they use these keywords and matches with millions of other webpages and assign a rank to each page and display them. This is why when you are into crypto, you will be noticing far more crypto ads in random websites and torrenting applications like Bittorrent or Utorrent. They indirectly sell your data for providing the best user experience which I am not convinced with even how good their algorithm functions.

You can probably try this out yourself : search about bitcoin and read information related to bitcoin alone for a day or two. Visit random websites and you would be noticing ads related to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Privacy is much more important than our laziness and it is a vital necessity for every internet user.

With the way I see it, Youtube has always been an insecure space following the fact that, contents on your account could be accessed and deleted without notifying you so, if they've actually got this authority, it's just been as porus as it could be following the fact that, a data set of all your information is readily accessible.

From the way I see it following the KYC policy to be implemented, it is just a way to keep under age users out as there are virtually no way to do this without KYC but this gives you an option which is, don't go through with it and keep your actual local identity safe hence, you don't get to view aged restricted contents or go through with it, view these contents and stand the chance of privacy violation. The ball is in your court!

Sadly once you're used to Google's effectiveness in search results, moving over to other smaller competitors like DDG feel like they're still stuck in the early 2000's.

Of course privacy is one thing, but it's hard to find a balance between that and convenience. Once I was searching for a term on DDG and it somewhat ended on the second page. Couldn't recall the term but it definitely had way more SERP on Google's.

Exactly that's the point. Any Linux distro even a starter like Linux Mint is much more focused on privacy than Windows does right now. I was reading quite a long discussion in our forum regarding Linux OS a few months back when I thought of completely switching from Windows to Linux. Even though Ubuntu is backed by a company named Canonical and shipping spyware, they are far better than Windows 10. In that case, I would opt for Debian than Ubuntu or Linux Mint.

I haven't heard any of these but anyway thanks for providing the links. Been using DuckDuckGo atleast an year and it was really a good experience. I would be switching over permanently to other only when I think the Duck doesn't offer what I ask for which hadn't happened till now.

Pretty much this. Google, Facebook and Microsoft products has dominated everyone's life and I don't think we can really bring a change so easily. When I switched from Whatsapp to Signal for confidential chats, I had no other go other than explaining people why Facebook products are mere spyware running behind our ass for confidential and private information. Even after explaining most of my inner contact circle, they weren't pleased and returned back to Whatsapp by uninstalling Signal and I was left stranded in Signal again. When people trust Zuck more with their private information than Brian Acton's Signal Foundation, we should leave their digital privacy to be stolen. I am not sure, when Zuck will be monetizing Whatsapp and running ads through the app.

Replacing Youtube/Instagram has become near to impossible and I don't think this will ever change even if someone comes up with a ground breaking web application for hosting videos. Moving up to a competitor to lose the views would never be welcomed by Youtube celebrities as almost 90% are likely using Youtube to monetize and earn.

Replacing YouTube with something else is very difficult because a lot of people have specific channels they watch all the time on YT. Unless most of them move to a competitor, this likely won't happen. Google has been smart enough to ensure themselves that any competitor has a very rough time to go through in order to get past YT. Hence, they'll likely live even with this identity thing. Most people will say, "it's just my ID, and Google wouldn't do anything bad with it".

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm not sure if it's only a placebo effect or something but it feels like DuckDuckGo's search algorithm has been significantly changed in the past few weeks - I don't have the issue with getting wrong results at all anymore. I'll give Ecosia a try though for sure.

One would hope that it would create a niche in the market that new competitors would fill.  In an ideal world, maybe get a bit more diversity and put an end to YouTube/Google's total dominance.  But something tells me people are getting lazier and many are likely to just go with the flow and not challenge this trend.  Troubling times.



I've been using Ecosia for a few months now.  Seems decent enough.  Never seemed to get the results I was looking for with engines like DuckDuckGo or StartPage.  Ecosia has the better algorithm, IMO.  

Can't say I've heard of any of the others in your list, though.  Might be some good ones among them.

Big, big difference between consciously and wittingly handing out very accurate information about you and them trying to find out where you live, what your hobbies are and what you're interested in or who you are. Handing out KYC data is just like telling Google where you live. It's you giving the information yourself.

This website is a great one for privacy newbies. I personally don't like Manjaro, but to be honest, any Linux distro is substantially better than Windows.

While you are right, DuckDuckGo is turning dark as well imo. The fact that they removed OpenStreetMaps and now the only option you have for Maps is Apple's, it turned into a big red flag that I should be seeking other search engines.

Honestly, I'm not sure what other alternatives there are. Whonix suggests YaCy, Qwant, ecosia, MetaGer and Peekier but I'm not sure whether they're better alternatives or it's just a marketing gimmick.

I think I remember we talked about e-mail platforms; I personally don't trust any e-mail platform because they're all centralized. But honestly, I'd use and support anything but Google's/Facebook's/Apple's stuff.

You ever heard of this phrase "security is an illusion"?
As long as you're connected to the internet, anonymity is zero, whether you do KYC or not, your information is out there already, unless and i meant unless you create your own internet, you aren't protected.

Losing of privacy starts with the first usage of Windows on a new PC/Laptop and it continues all the way until we either shift to a better Linux based OS or sell the PC altogether. We are well aware that Windows is a bloatware and adware and we will be watching the ads in the start menu based on our search history. If we want this to be saved, we should start using Linux based OS like Manjaro or some easier one like Ubuntu. If you are a fan of Windows, try to customize Linux with Cinnamon DE and you are good to go.

The second thing is the usage of search engines. Google is an utter nonsense which sells our data to improve the user experience and we are very well aware of this. This is probably the reason I have stopped using Google for the majority of the time. I have experienced this practically when I was on a break from cryptocurrencies back in May-June. Right from 2018 I never browser a day without watching a crypto ad in non-crypto forums or websites. When I got to know more about Google's shit, I moved onto DuckDuckGo and never turned back. The third and most important privacy centric application is your Chat app in Mobile/PC. For god's sake, I would never trust any facebook products with my personal information and this was one of the reasons why I moved onto Signal for confidential and privacy centric chats. I have an anonymous dummy Instagram account just to browse crypto related news and nothing more.

Never trust GMAIL with your personal and confidential information. Use protonmail or other mail providers which I have mentioned in your topic a few months back in Serious Discussion. If we are in need of complete digital privacy we should be limit our usage of Microsoft, Facebook and Google Products. Summing up these above discussion, this is my current setup to preserve my digital life and digital well being :

1. Always use Linux Distro instead of Windows/Mac
2. Always stick on to Signal for privacy centric and confidential chats
3. Use protonmail or other trusted email service providers rather than gmail
4. Use Firefox Browser with a dedicated VPN / Tor Browser - Avoid Chrome like a plague
5. Use DuckDuckGo as your search engine and prevent Google from stealing your privacy

Privacy can still be achieved if we use the right platforms and stop depending on spyware like Google or Facebook.

If you are using then you are having no privacy at all, Google watches you all the time and no one can oppose it.Technology getting developed while human kind lose their privacy so its not possible for someone to get drowned without adapting to it, we have to move and learn how to live with those no privacy life.

So what happens if my kid steals my credit card or ID to falsely prove that he is over 18? If kids are curious to find out about adult stuff, it's their parents' fault for being let so free on the Internet and I should not be forced to provide personal data to access it. There are enough ways out there to keep your kids away from adult-oriented things on the web.

TV channels are one of the easiest ways for children to access adult/mature oriented content, yet ever since the existence of TVs, nobody's ever asked me or anyone else around the world for an ID to access news and explicit content that appears on a daily basis on music channels.

I think having phone number verification and IP tracing is more than enough personal information to create an account. I should not be forced to prove my identity to access something that is supposed to be free. My personal documents and information are the alternative currency these platforms lately use to their own gain. If I have to access adult-oriented videos on YouTube only if I provide my ID or CC, I think it's getting into a serious privacy threat that really disturbs me.

Now about porn, that would be even more concerning than the YouTube situation. Linking my porn history with my real identity and being able to create a perfect analysis of my preferences over sexual content is something I really don't want someone to be able to do, and I'm sure a lot of other people think the same.

I don't think it's so scary. As you say, to have a google account, you already needed a verified phone account, and they could also trace you via IP (there are very few people who use VPN). The ID thing is one more step, but it doesn't change much. In this case I think it is to know your age, because having your mobile number (or your IP) they could not know your age.

What I do believe is that the channels that produce restricted videos will migrate to other platforms, such as vimeo.

They should start doing this with porn-Youtubes like Xvideos or Pornhub, because we have a generation of kids that start accessing porn at a very early age, like 8 or 10 years old.

On the 22nd of September, YouTube has announced new plans for Europe: identity verification for videos that are age-restricted.

If until not too long ago the verification was a Google account which already required mobile number verification, the corporation will soon implement a KYC-like procedure in order to be allowed to watch age-restricted videos.

It seems like the new procedure has to do with Revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), which has been adopted on the 6th of November 2018.

According to YouTube's recent blog post,


This is very alarming imo. If we rewind the time back to 2013 and slowly remember all the new "regulations" and "guidelines" that have been implemented among most of the online platforms, we would find out that these things are so smoothly implemented it's just scary. I keep repeating on a daily basis this same idea that only seems to become more real every day: privacy is soon going to be a definition of the past!