this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2026
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DeGoogle Yourself

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how do you get google to stop tracking you even after you tried everything? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 days ago by lemmingsareawesome@sh.itjust.works to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml
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(this isnt a question about how to make invidious more secure/private i just want google to stop knowing everything i do and every device i have) I like watching youtube videos. I hate google. I try invidious. It's pretty cool.

I watch the videos I like on it. But I get suspicous. The channels I wacth even after I change my Ip, clear my cookies, change my tor circuts, even change my entire os to something real private like tails or qubes with whonix , ARE STILL RECOMMENDED TO ME. So I do a test. I watch channels I don't like. There it is. I feel like google is laughing in my face

Whats worse, I went on a different device and the same videos are there :(.

ive tried vpns, tor, tails, whonix in qubes, quad9, and nothing works. what do i do now?

(im not concerned about youtube synching reccomendations im concerned about google knowing what i like, and what devices i have no matter what tools i use)

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[–] lemmingsareawesome@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

thanks for the advice man :)

idk how to clean metadata reliably yet but heres what i see: Vox, Markiplier, someordanairygamers, penguinz0, firship, thehatedone, mentaloutlaw

do these show up for you?

[–] LytiaNP@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's generally what most invidious pages look like. Some lean much more into political news, but otherwise it's generally those guys.

[–] lemmingsareawesome@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

idk i get recommended them only after i actually watch them. ive never got recommended markiplier until i started watching hids videos

[–] LytiaNP@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

On inv.nadeko.net what you listed is almost exactly what the front page looks like.

If you're getting the recommendations on the front page, it's likely the Baader–Meinhof phenomenon. When you watch a video, the side bar recommendations are based on the video you're currently watching though. There are instances like invidious.nerdvpn.de that disable the homepage if you'd prefer.

[–] lemmingsareawesome@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

idk bro i was watching a generic roblox brainrot video (trying to test if google thinks its me) and got recommneded chess vids from a speific channel i faked an interest in months ago. if i cover the recommendations it wont be private or convient since i use them to check if google tracking works and i like having new vids to watch without having to look for them but i dont want companies to connect everything i do together (

[–] LytiaNP@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

IMO, I think you're being a little paranoid (I say as someone who was extremely paranoid when they first started getting into privacy). Take a bit of time to look into what is actually possible and how you can properly protect yourself, and hopefully that can put your mind at ease.

I don't mean to say all your fears are unfounded, or to just stop caring about your privacy and focus on learning, but taking a few days or weeks to understand better what Google (or any other company) is truly capable of will probably be better for you in the long run. You should also consider your threat model and what you're willing to give up (if anything) in order to live a more private life. If you have to watch YouTube, Google will always have some sort of data, but it is possible to remove most (if not all) connections to you.

[–] lemmingsareawesome@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

ok thanks for the advice i admit im a bit crazy. thanks for the optimism too