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[Technology] Suspicious Youtube Recommendations



Brightonfan1983

Brightonfan1983

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
4,863
UK
You know the sidebar/end of video splashscreen? It's full of video recommendations based on your watching history, right?

Bearing in mind I'm the only user of my computer, and that a few years ago I cleared and deactivated pretty much every tracking thing I could find on Google which includes the Youtube search and watch history, for the last few months I've noticed a steady stream of Tommy Robinson, EDL and conspiracy videos making an appearance.

What the heck is going on? I suspect my Youtube history is very similar to most of us on here, ie. pretty unremarkable, so what is being picked up on that they're appearing in my recommendations?

Equally, why - since my history and and activity is switched off - does Youtube recommend similar videos to ones I have watched? Surely "they" don't know this either since it's, well, Off?

I'm beginning to think the internet isn't as trustworthy and private as it's cracked up to be.
 






Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
72,453
Withdean area
Brightonfan1983 said:
You know the sidebar/end of video splashscreen? It's full of video recommendations based on your watching history, right?

Bearing in mind I'm the only user of my computer, and that a few years ago I cleared and deactivated pretty much every tracking thing I could find on Google which includes the Youtube search and watch history, for the last few months I've noticed a steady stream of Tommy Robinson, EDL and conspiracy videos making an appearance.

What the heck is going on? I suspect my Youtube history is very similar to most of us on here, ie. pretty unremarkable, so what is being picked up on that they're appearing in my recommendations?

Equally, why - since my history and and activity is switched off - does Youtube recommend similar videos to ones I have watched? Surely "they" don't know this either since it's, well, Off?

I'm beginning to think the internet isn't as trustworthy and private as it's cracked up to be.
Click to expand...

From your IP address?
 


Dick Swiveller

Dick Swiveller

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2011
9,932
I use the Sky Q Youtube app and have gone down many a rabbit hole with the recommended videos but none have been, er, white focused. It does seem like one video can suddenly spark a plethora of weird suggestions but not that randomly weird.

But without the suggested videos, I would have been unaware of this, which would be a loss as it is magnificent :-



Also, random American family who think Crawley is London and that everything is so much better



Kid who sounds like Keith Chegwin playing Planet Coaster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7-pFZiNco


But mostly it offers me people playing old computer games as I would expect.
 


beorhthelm

beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
36,444
Brightonfan1983 said:
What the heck is going on? I suspect my Youtube history is very similar to most of us on here, ie. pretty unremarkable, so what is being picked up on that they're appearing in my recommendations?

Equally, why - since my history and and activity is switched off - does Youtube recommend similar videos to ones I have watched? Surely "they" don't know this either since it's, well, Off?
Click to expand...

yes, and yes.

longer answer, the machines think if you like something and some who likes something similar, then you must share similar interest. its not as vague as "like football so must be EDF candidate" it will be someone you have a direct link to through work, family, location that does. while you have history and activity switched off locally they still see all the traffic and linkage server side. its still private though as they arent targeted at you, its the profile of you a sort of meta persona that exists in their system with a link to you.
 




BNthree

BNthree

Plastic JCL
Sep 14, 2016
12,007
WeHo
Weren't YouTube meant to be tweaking the algorithms that make the suggestions to stop flat earth/conspiracy theory videos getting suggested? Saw a few articles about that last month I'm sure.
 


A1X

A1X

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 1, 2017
22,588
Deepest, darkest Sussex
I once got a plug for a channel called "Elevators from Sweden" which was some bloke reviewing public lifts in Swedish public buildings. That was quite surreal.
 






Dick Swiveller

Dick Swiveller

Well-known member
Sep 9, 2011
9,932
A1X said:
I once got a plug for a channel called "Elevators from Sweden" which was some bloke reviewing public lifts in Swedish public buildings. That was quite surreal.
Click to expand...
That is the beauty of Youtube. I am one of just 40 or so people watching a Trump supporter teaching Commodore 64 assembly language. He got very excited when his subscribers jump 5 or so, presumably because they saw the same Tweet about it as I did. This has made him up his rate of videos despite the views on the latest one being just 11. There really is content for everyone if you look hard enough. I am slightly concerned that I did watch one of his earlier cryptically named videos where he was ranting about MSM and lefties but so far it hasn't started offering me Fox News as recommended videos.

I do wonder of the motivation of some people to produce videos though. I did fall into watching a series of Football Manager videos which some on here may be aware of as he has 50000 subscribers - Lollujo. He also does a family vlog - every single day. I did watch a few as he talks about the issues of raising an autistic son which is a subject I knew little about. But he does a video every single day with trips to the shop, dentist etc.I don't get the mindset of recording your life, every single day for strangers to watch.
 










B

Bodian

Well-known member
May 3, 2012
16,449
Cumbria
Dick Swiveller said:
I use the Sky Q Youtube app and have gone down many a rabbit hole with the recommended videos but none have been, er, white focused. It does seem like one video can suddenly spark a plethora of weird suggestions but not that randomly weird.

But without the suggested videos, I would have been unaware of this, which would be a loss as it is magnificent :-

Click to expand...


That is quite astonishing! How does someone have the time to do that?
 






RandyWanger

RandyWanger

Je suis rôti de boeuf
Mar 14, 2013
7,376
Done a Frexit, now in London
Yeah, mine comes up with girls trying on bikinis or tight yoga pants. Bloody YouTube
 






brakespear

brakespear

Doctor Worm
Feb 24, 2009
12,326
Sleeping on the roof
Dick Swiveller said:
I use the Sky Q Youtube app and have gone down many a rabbit hole with the recommended videos but none have been, er, white focused. It does seem like one video can suddenly spark a plethora of weird suggestions but not that randomly weird.

But without the suggested videos, I would have been unaware of this, which would be a loss as it is magnificent :-


.
Click to expand...


love that
 




Brightonfan1983

Brightonfan1983

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
4,863
UK
beorhthelm said:
yes, and yes.

longer answer, the machines think if you like something and some who likes something similar, then you must share similar interest. its not as vague as "like football so must be EDF candidate" it will be someone you have a direct link to through work, family, location that does. while you have history and activity switched off locally they still see all the traffic and linkage server side. its still private though as they arent targeted at you, its the profile of you a sort of meta persona that exists in their system with a link to you.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, hadn't thought of the server side of things. Makes sense. I probably go to Youtube via Twitter more often than not, so perhaps as you suggest, clicking through to footage of the latest far right rally in Texas mixed with The "You Will Not Believe The Most Shocking Offisde Decisions Ever" Megamix, goes some way to explaining it. I use those free VPNs from time to time too, so the traffic pinging through is probably a bit varied.
 




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