this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2026

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DeGoogle Yourself

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Alternative for YouTube recommendations? (feddit.nu)

submitted 2 days ago by Hund@feddit.nu to c/degoogle@lemmy.ml

22 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have an old Google account that I only use for one specific thing today: YouTube recommendations.

Their algorithm is actually decent. Which is not something I hear myself very often. And while it can be a trap, it does actually recommend me a fair bit of high quality content as long as I stay away from the obvious traps, make sure to block channels I don't like, and use the feature "not interested" on videos that I don't like.

However. I would like to only use my web feed client and no Google account at all, but I would then miss out on the recommended videos.

Is there some privacy respecting alternative to this that I'm not aware of?

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[–] yuman@programming.dev 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

freetube recommends decently similar videos with the occasional slop in there, in addition to your subscriptions that are not visible to google or anyone else. only here, when you hide a channel, that thing is hidden forever, won't pop up again randomly.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thanks! I'll look into Freetube.

[–] yuman@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I mighta misunderstood what you want; freetube gives good & relevant recommendations if you've selected a video, like you're watching something and then you see related stuff in the sidebar.

if you want to open freetube and then it recommends you things to watch, unprompted, that's not a thing. honestly, wouldn't want that to be an option at all.

when you turn off the "viral" shit, block a buncha slop channels (super easy - stupid face in the thumbnail? blockety block) and make your subs the home page, it becomes a joy to use.

[–] Freakazoid@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Maybe invidious or use freetube.

There is also grayjay, and while it works pretty fine I believe there where some controversies around the program even tho I don't know the reason.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

Thanks! I'll look into them and the controversy.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Doesn't those work like Piped, that you get recommendations based on the current video your viewing?

I was talking about the general recommendations that you get based on what you watch over time. :)

[–] Freakazoid@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I understand, in Grayjay that is working as far as I know. It shows me videos based on my previously watched content. So that should work.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

Cool. I'll check it out!

[–] dannitien@piefed.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The controversy is that the code is not fully open source, but it was originally labeled as FOSS.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

Oh! That is a no go for me then. I only use open source software.

[–] SamuelEllis@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

YouTube's recommendation quality relies on persistent client-side state and server-side tracking tied to your account; without an authenticated session, the system lacks the cross-video context needed for accurate modeling, effectively forcing a trade-off between privacy and algorithmic relevance. Have you considered whether a local-only client with manual tag-based filtering could approximate the utility of a personalized feed without surrendering your data?

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

I'm fully aware of that, this is partly why I would like to avoid a Google account, even though the only thing I use it for, is YouTube. I don't like Google at all.

A local-only client (or something that's at least privacy respecting) is what I'm looking for, which is why this I submitted this topic. Do you have any recommendations?

[–] molasses6469@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Why is no one mentioning Flow? It is literally built to be exactly what you want. It has a local, no-Google-account required recommendation engine.

[–] dannitien@piefed.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I use a front end called Grayjay. You can log in with your YouTube account in the settings and transfer everything or you can set up a Polycentric account and never use YouTube directly at all. It's ad-free on my device and I notice that it even shows Patreon content on some channels.

I downloaded it directly from their website and use F-Droid as the repository. I was able to do all this on an Android tablet, so it's fairly simple.

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

Thank you! I'll look into it.

[–] terradragon@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I know that's not exactly what you're looking for, but imo not getting recommendations from YouTube's algorithm at all might be better. Why? From the Cambridge analytica scandal we have proof that these algorithms have the capability to manipulate people's ideologies without their consent. I think your algorithm basically personalizes an indoctrination strategy. The idea is not new, it has been talked about in the famous book 'Manufacturing consent'.

Let's say, they don't have a grand political plan behind their algorithm, but even then, the algorithm is just optimizing your feed for maximum engagement rather than intellectual nourishment. They just want you to watch more and more. And not spend much time to stop, think and reflect.

As for recommendations, you can get them organically from your close friends (they'd def be happy to send you a bunch lol) or from lemmy communities (like the documentaries ones)

[–] Hund@feddit.nu 1 points 2 days ago

Thank you for the, well.. human reply! :D

I know all about this, both from a moral and technical standpoint. And I have seen the algorithm do this multiple times, but I'm aware of it, and I only watch wholesome family friendly content, which is mainly about tech, bikes and coffee. I don't care for politics, drama or anything like that, which is why it's quite easy to spot the dark rabbit holes I get presented with from time to time. :)

Recommendations from friends only work if you have friends. I do get recommended videos on social media (which is the fediverse for me), but it's rare. I actually like checking my inbox, and if I don't feel like watching something there, I just go and see the rekommendations, which is not always good, but they do have some fun stuff from time to time. I have found most of the channels that I subscribe to there.