Gregory's ServerPSA: Please remove URL trackers from YouTube links before sharing
YT adds strings of code to the end of web links so it can collect data such as what account sourced the video, who then clicks on it, webcrawlers can link public accounts sharing it...
Find & remove a URL tracker from a link:
If you have a long link & there's "?si=" in the middle, that's the beginning of the tracker. Remove the ?si= & all the subsequent numbers, letters & symbols after it. The cleaned link can be shared normally ๐
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21 comments
@chris_evelyn No worries. We all forget occasionally, and it's a especially good to remember as many of us change from using Songwhip, because it ends on Monday, to YT. ๐ @Kitty @chris_evelyn It's better than linking directly to #YouTube, because it lets people use advert-free, high-fidelity or easily downloadable services if they've already subscribed to them. A SongLink page looks like this: https://song.link/i/1443106127 (Don't worry, it's not a rickroll. ๐)  [possibly relevant information] the "?xxx=" or "&xxx=" indicates a parameter the first one in a YT link has an "?" , and all subsequent ones have their own "&"s. the various types (videoID, timestamp, playlist index, ^this tracking garbage) are not always in the same order, but the first one must have the "?" @EisenTukan @Kitty in you'll need to remove the whole text from and including &si= and as far as, but not including, the next &.  @Kitty Good tip, and it works with any shared link. In Firefox, you can right click and choose "copy link without site tracking."  Better still, you could share a link to the YouTube video through one of many instances of #Invidous . Here's an example:  @Kitty @Kitty thereโs also the Tracking Token Disrespector bot that replies with links that have tracking removed: @c558c7cc69bbda3c271782b736babc64acd2da258b14f356dbca966cb0b7b89e  @Kitty Firefox users can also "copy link without site tracking". Also I think the "pp" query string parameter is used for tracking as well and can be removed. (You may find whatever allegory in this that you wish)
 @Kitty You shouldn't be linking to the proprietary JavaScript on youtube.com as that is instructing the execution of proprietary malware.
You should link to the video on an invidious instance like https://yewtu.be/ instead. @Kitty All the ones I see look like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSAocqCRYZw . There's no way to remove the tracking aspect of the link. |
@Kitty Oh right. I just missed one, too ๐