Hm I don't understand how they are tracking you in this case. I'm gonna ask a question that may seem stupid, but since you didn't mention it, you aren't logged into google/youtube are you?
this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2026
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no never (i logged in ONCE on linux mint without a vpn on librewolf and ive changed my os to tails but i dont know if logging in with no vpn makes you have a magical undefeatable virus that you cant detect or remove)
(i think i would like qubes better if it was easier to learn tails isnt for me since the police arent after me, i dont live in a dangerous area, and my parents are nice. i dont need psychical protection as much as remote protection)
(cool username btw)
Think beyond the OS/browser. Machines on your local network that ping or access Google could be used to create a identifiable signature. Then they know the whole subnet "fingerprint". New machine, new OS, new browser, same local network, same suggestions.
Yeah but OP says they're on VPN so this threat is eliminated
The code for the sites run on a client machine within the network regardless of VPN. Fingerprinting happens on the client machine no matter what, and most public VPN services allow local routing as far as I know.
If you disable local routing then it shouldn't be an issue. You could test this by pinging local machines
Yeah you're right. That's what I get for skimming.
honesty is cool 👍
Browser Fingerprinting. You must configure your browser to lie about what it is and change the lie repeatedly. Simplest way is plugin to change your browsers User-Agent. This will be a big deal on mobile because mobile browsers will actually report the device model in the UA. Be prepared to see lots of captchas if you do this though.
How is YouTube getting that fingerprint through Invidious, though?
Its possible that is YouTube isn't building a profile of the user but a profile of that specific invidious instance which is all of its users collectively. Its also possible that invidious is leaking some browser info like User-Agent to YouTube. That way switching IP doesn't matter as long as its the same invidious instance.
Switching invidious instances should clear that up. If not then you've got a serious problem with invidious.
But you don’t want it to randomize the fingerprint with every webpage change, that itself becomes an identifiable signal.
You just change it when you want to drop any profile you developed. ie on browser start. The problem with changing it every page is sites will assume you're a bot and either block you or serve you a captcha on every page.
ive tried the defualt in the real tor browser with safest settings. also tried an extension called chalmeon ( i cant spel) no differnce in the creepy tracking not even a budge
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I browse YouTube on brave browser with VPN and not logged in. The YT front page is blank until I start watching videos, then I get recommendations based on what I've watched during that session.
idk i try using youtube to check if google can track me, i click on a generic popular brainrot video then my recommendations are niche and personalized. with inviduos google doesnt try to hide it.
(67!!!!!!)
I've seen a handful of your posts before. I don't think Google is still tracking you.
If you were to open YouTube in one tab, and Invidious in another, Google could maybe correlate the two (realistically, even that is enough seperation) but you wouldn't notice anything. Invidious uses one token for multiple users, so if YouTube is recommending something to you, it's recommending it to everyone using the instance. That only really applies to the frontpage though, when you watch a video, those recommendations are based on the video you're watching.
You describe using a lot of services that help protect your privacy, but you don't seem to understand when, why, and how to use them properly (e.g. Qubes is security focused, and incidentally good for privacy, while Tails is privacy focused and decent for security). I'd suggest taking a look at privacyguides.org (not affiliated) for a more in depth explanation of various services.
i dont watch videos on youtube on linux anymore i watch youtube through invidious on tor. i clear my idenity. I go to a different device, ios, normal guy safari, go to invidious, the videos are there too. if google can do it through invidious its realistick to assume it can through any website. thanks for the resources though )
Would you mind sharing screenshots (or at the very least name specific examples)?
What you're describing is technologically and financially infeasible for Google to do at scale (or even to one specific person). If Google were able to track you that well, they wouldn't modify the recommendations for you, they would quietly add it to an ad profile on you. The only reason the YouTube algorithm exists is to keep people on the platform for longer, when you use invidious, you are losing YouTube money, so they have no financial incentive to modify their algorithm for you.
If you're using a small few person instance, then what you watch can actually influence the recommendations (at least until the token rotates), but that isn't Google tracking you specifically. If you use a more popular instance (like nerdvpn or nadeko) what you watch will do little to influence the front page algorithm.
As I mentioned in my previous comment, I'd suggest you look into how the various privsec technologies you're using actually work, and also look at how companies are actually able to track you. If you just assume a company can do something because they're big, powerful, and scary, suddenly the company seems much bigger, more powerful, and scary than they really are. It's also important to remember that just because something can be used to correlate activity with the user doing, that doesn't mean it's something that can be done at scale.
Judging from your previous posts and comments, it sounds like you're quite new to privacy. This kind of mentality (in one form or another) is very common amongst people who are new to caring about their privacy. Surveillance has been happening for your entire life, so it's not going to hurt to take a bit to think about things with a clearer head. Of course, if you're in a situation where lack of privacy might cause physical harm, find help ASAP, but generally you can take things at a slower pace to help on the long run. That's not to say stop caring at all, but you don't need to suddenly drop everything and move to a bunker in the woods. Too much change at once can lead to privacy fatigue, which only makes it less likely that you'll escape any of the surveillance of the modern world.
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?
Yeah, that's generally what most invidious pages look like. Some lean much more into political news, but otherwise it's generally those guys.
idk i get recommended them only after i actually watch them. ive never got recommended markiplier until i started watching hids videos
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.
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 (
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.
ok thanks for the advice i admit im a bit crazy. thanks for the optimism too
Maybe you can check https://privacyterminal.com/ and https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/ to see what may be being used to track you.
Firefox anti-fingerprinting doesn't seem effective.
ive tried the 2nd one it says my fingerprint is generic so it should be fine and i shouldnt be linked to all my other fingerprints and sessions (i am) but i havent tried the first one
thanks for the recommendation
I asked if you were actually clearing your cache in the other thread.
In this one I’ll try something different: have you considered logging in?
You are, based on two threads full of replies from you, incapable of avoiding “google” “tracking”.
It could be that you’re running android, that your google access point is sending telemetry or that you simply don’t have enough understanding of how the web works to effectively avoid being tracked no matter what operating system or software package is in use. That last part isn’t meant as an insult, web browsers are basically their own os and extremely complex.
Have you considered using a sandbox setup like Firefox’s container tabs and logging into google on a particular container?
That avoids the need for you to avoid tracking by saying to google “I’m me!” While also presenting them an empty browser cache and cookie sandbox to play in.
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This is just my thought, but since you're still using youtube under the hood, Google still can link you to thr other data thats already been tracked before in their database, like how Google can still know it you even after you factory reset on stock ROM android
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Can't say I'm knowledgeable, so I'm throwing some words i heard around. Did you change the DNS for your ISP each time you made a new connection?
Your DNS could help identify you, but only if someone already has a handful of other data points. DNS fingerprinting is only really helpful if someone has DNS leaks with their VPN.
ps im not asking a question specfically about how to stop google from tracking me in invidious only, i use invidious to check if google can still track me (they can :(
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