this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
65 points (98.5% liked)

Privacy

37311 readers
812 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Related communities

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
65
My Journey to Quitting YouTube: A Personal Experience (lemmy.ml)
submitted 14 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
13 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/43402558

Hey, Privacy community! I wanted to share my personal experience with quitting YouTube, a journey that has been both challenging and liberating.

Initially, I started my deGoogle journey by cutting back on various Google services, but when it came to YouTube, I found it incredibly hard to let go. I tried using alternatives like NewPipe and FreeTube—both fantastic FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) options that allowed me to access YouTube content without the usual Google baggage. However, despite these alternatives, I still felt trapped in the cycle of daily YouTube usage and the addictive nature of the platform.

To tackle this, I decided to take a more drastic approach. I implemented a DNS block using AdGuard DNS and NextDNS, which helped me create a network-wide blocklist for Google services. In the first two weeks, I found myself turning the DNS off occasionally, creating two profiles in NextDNS to allow Google services when I felt the urge creeping back in. It was a struggle, but I knew I needed to break free.

Gradually, I began replacing my YouTube watch time with journaling and diving into topics that truly interested me, particularly various philosophies. After about four weeks, I was amazed to find that I no longer felt the urge to watch YouTube at all! However, I still have my doubts about returning to the platform, fearing it might reignite my addiction and lead me back into a FOMO (fear of missing out) mindset. To safeguard against this, I’ve kept my no-Google filters active in NextDNS.

I also discovered alternatives like PeerTube, thanks to creators like The Linux Experiment and TechLore, who actively post content there. Platforms like Loop, Pixelfed, Mastodon, and Lemmy have also become integral parts of my online life, providing me with a sense of community and connection without the overwhelming distractions of YouTube.

By de-Googling and stepping away from YouTube, I’ve reclaimed so much of my life. While many tout YouTube as a great social platform for mental health, I’ve found the opposite to be true for me. Without the constant distractions and the pressure to consume content that often felt useless, I’ve experienced a newfound clarity and peace of mind.

Now, I have more time to help my mom, focus on my own projects, and enjoy moments of solitude that have significantly reduced my stress levels.

YouTube can be a helpful platform for many, but for me, it was a different story. I initially thought it would lead me to greater privacy and understanding of FOSS services, but instead, I found myself entangled in a web of privacy violations and creepy policies. The community here has been instrumental in guiding me toward FOSS alternatives that respect my privacy.

I’m curious—does anyone else have experiences with quitting YouTube or trying to? I’d love to hear your stories and insights!

top 13 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Sounds like an overreaction. Theres a shit ton of useful information on YouTube. Its like if you said 'I'm trying to quit wikipedia because I don't like the company that owns it"

Theres no reason to hinder yourself just because you don't like google.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 50 minutes ago (1 children)

Unhooked is a nice extension to help self contrrol.

I literally got brainrotted with Shorts and I couldnt stop scrolling for 3h. Additionally doing Homework was impossible with a narrowed consciousness which I call brainrot.

I forces myself to walk in the Forest to regain my brain, memory and control.

Unhooked helped not seeing recommendations when open up youtube and on learning phasesto not see further recommendations when watching something. Unsure if I had a second extension to kill shorts entirely because they are the worst and not giving anything good back.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 44 minutes ago

I never really watched the shorts on YouTube as theyre not what I went there for and just constantly hit 'stop showing me thsse' in my recommendations. They still recommend them but it seems less so sometimes.

It sucks because all the other recommendations are usually pretty good. I blame the outrage over tiktok by the USA for google adding that shorts crap to YouTube. They thought they could seize a market of short attention span people(they were right) but just took the worst aspects of tiktok and added it to their platform.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 hours ago

Quitting youtube completely is difficult.

  1. I was fed up with shorts addiction, and feed suggestion, it was like like loop , where you keep watching video , which are not needed.
  2. So I just turned off the history for my youtube so now I don't get the home feed and also no shorts .
  3. I just watch the subscribed stuffs , this helped me so much
[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 hours ago

Im impressed that you managed to do this, youtube for me is the last thing Im struggling to give up on.

grayjay is a happy medium for me - you can create your own feed from different platforms (odysee, peertube, nebula and youtube etc) and adverts are blocked

[–] [email protected] 4 points 12 hours ago

I find that youtube videos can be very helpful if I search for a subject of interest. Freetube has a good search function for youtube. Freetube usually works for me, although sometimes I have to change my vpn location.

I also have a number of channels that I follow using RSS (QuiteRSS). I can be very selective in which channels to follow. I regularly add and delete channels. I use Freetube to search subjects and find channels to follow related to those subjects. I watch the RSS videos in a librewolf browser that deletes cookies every time I shut it down, and it has medium privacy settings.

The youtube feed is horrible, as are the advertisements. I don't get any advertisements, I am not sure if it is because of adblock or if it is because I never sign in to google/youtube on my device. The sidebar of related videos is somewhat like a feed and contains a lot of junk, but occasionally I find an interesting video or channel by looking at the sidebar while watching a video.

I am happy with the way my setup is working now, but of course things could change at any time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 12 hours ago

I don't personally cut my usage of YouTube content at all; I just simply use necessary tools to prevent the apps and services from over-sharing too much data at a network level. DNS and IP level filtering is done typically to prevent well-known domains and telemetry targets from being utilized and any account preferences are set to minimize consent given. NewPipe and FreeTube are used interchangeably with yp-dlp if needed. No account is necessary...my viewing patterns aren't being recorded except in a generalized aggregate manner which enforces a reasonable amount of privacy.

I'm of the opinion that a completely de-googled device lacks critical features I use often; and restoring equal function is oftentimes made difficult. Unfortunately this also covers video content; there's no real viable FLOSS alternative with enough content. The creators typically do not have a motivation to use PeerTube or other viable FLOSS software that does exist currently and do not publish videos there; which introduces a heavy timelag; even if the creator or even someone else IS willing to export the YT content out to PT.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

the post is too much for me to read right now. Every youtuber I like is constantly getting demonetized and/or having their revenue stolen. So I watch with some heavy duty adblocking filters on multiple levels.

And then for let's plays where each video in a playlist is 40 minutes or more I use alternative front-ends exclusively

[–] [email protected] 4 points 13 hours ago

the post is too much for me to read right now.

Huh?

[–] [email protected] 16 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

So the goal is to replace YouTube with non-video content not just replacing it with a different ui or provider. That sounds more doable. Good to hear that it improved.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah I liked that too then they suddenly say they replaced it with Peertube… which doesn’t make anything sense to me.

Replacing YouTube with reading is a great idea but replacing YouTube with peertube still makes no sense. No tracking for .0000000001% of the content.

It makes their goals in this post unclear to me. Is it to degoogle or to devideo.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I understand your point. I suspect the main advantage the post isn’t making clear is that PeerTube doesn’t have the same ensnaring algorithm that YouTube does, so it doesn’t keep you endlessly watching the next video or at least suggesting another video to you.

I think that’s kind of an advantage of a lot of fediverse alternatives is they’re comparatively “boring” in that they force you to be more intentional. They don’t just serve you up the next thing that they’ve calculated you’re likely to engage with. If you subscribe/follow accounts, you’ll see them, but you won’t see content you don’t subscribe to.

Not that you can’t get just as addicted but it’s at least much less convenient.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago

I understand your point. I suspect the main advantage the post isn’t making clear is that PeerTube doesn’t have the same ensnaring algorithm that YouTube does, so it doesn’t keep you endlessly watching the next video or at least suggesting another video to you.

I honestly find this a negative which is spread around carelessly as a positive. On Peertube I see zero content except linux. On Mastodon I can only either find that one star trek dude, linux and foss dudes, or libs complaining about politics. Lemmy is easier to find stuff but has very little content.

I've let go of all other google and social media formats but youtube has actually good content and honestly a good algorithm. I search for something I want or watch something from my youtube rss feed then it recommends what I want. I have ads and tracking blocked. I only get the content I want.

I can't say the same for most of the fediverse honestly.

I think that’s kind of an advantage of a lot of fediverse alternatives is they’re comparatively “boring” in that they force you to be more intentional.

That's honestly just showed me how pointless it all is...