I have created a Google account that I ONLY use for YouTube, and only on non-Android devices (so they don’t get linked to my number), but I need to buy YouTube Premium and my concern is that paying with my card gives Google my real name, address etc (maybe this is me being paranoid? can they perhaps not use this information for tracking since it is billing infomation?). Is there any way to circumvent this? I am in the EU, so I can’t use Privacy dot com, but I could use a Revolut virtual card, is that a good idea?
TLDR: I am fine with using YouTube and the tracking that does, however I am not comfortable with giving my real name, phone number and address, what are my options?
a virtual card can be used and you do not have to give your real billing address and name with those
maybe they will have to know at least the country but it’s the best option if accessible to have ones.
If you;re not comfortable with KYC, None is really an option other than something like prepaid cards from cake wallet or something like that.
I Googled KYC and I don’t really undestand it, but if I used Revolut for example, would that not give my information to Google? What do I do when it asks for a phone number and adress? It is a digital service so I assume I can just put in the wrong ones
I think I am comfortable with KYC? my threat level is pretty low, I just would rather not have Google know what I like and watch while also being 100% sure who I am IRL
If you use revolut already then yes you can take advantage of their virtual card system, create a virtual card only google will have access, then when you pay give a vague but plausible billing address (at all possible) and just don’t give a name, you can put a letter like G for example and it’ll accept still.
Virtual cards are fully controllable in the App, you can freeze them and you can delete them away in the event the credit card gets revealed in a data breach for example etc.
Actually I have one more question, you said if I already use Revolut, but I don’t yet, are there any better alternatives? I researched a ton and it seems like there are not as many alternatives for virtual cards in the EU
I know Revolut would have it, but i’m fine with that as long as Google doesn’t have it, not looking to be anonymous or anything, just limit Google’s tracking
Yes unfortunately all I know in the EU its wise and Revolut, either way even privacy.com now requires kyc so wouldn’t matter
If your threat model calls to be okay with giving that info to revolut, go ahead, otherwise yeah, I think the last best option I know is cake pay.
False, while true it is like any other card, it is virtual and doesn’t need to be tied to the same billing address or name as your actual info you give to revolut, and is controllable through the app like privacy.com which is freezing, removing it etc. the person has decided on their threat model it seems and that will be the best option.
Revolut also has one time virtual cards but since this is a subscription, it will only take dedicated virtual cards.
You seem to conflate the personal informations that you enter when you purchase something (which you can change with any card) and the personal informations that are tied to your card, virtual or otherwise.
Again, Revolut doesn’t hide anything, the disposable virtual card is only useful to avoid debit abuse of your real card.
No I am not, with virtual cards you can literally not have your real billing address, I know from experience, end of story.
(Same would go for prepaids)
The billing address is what you enter in the form during your purchase, it has nothing to do with the virtual card…
You can say ‘end of story’ as much as you want but you’re giving a false sense of security to the OP.
Based on your original post, it’s likely that Google already has your phone number on file—a clear privacy red flag unless you used a burner number. Revolut is a great start, but if you’re serious about privacy, opt to purchase YouTube premium exclusively either through the App Store or via Google Play Store gift cards.
Equally important: never authenticate your Google account on any Android-based hardware, including smartphones, Android TV smart TVs, Chromecast units, Google TV Streamer devices or other streaming devices. Each login lets Google harvest nearby network SSIDs and triangulate your location via passive telemetry.
Unless your ISP already places you behind a CG-NAT (which can obscure your general geo-location and help you blend in with other users) always access YouTube and other streaming services through a trusted VPN or residential proxy to mask both your endpoint address and network footprint.
Skipping any single step would greatly reduce your privacy.
All things considered, unless you specifically need YouTube Premium or an account for some other reason, your best bet for protecting your privacy is to use a privacy-focused browser with an ad blocker (ideally routed through your VPN or proxy) all while logged out or to use a YouTube privacy frontend. Combine either of these approaches with RSS feeds for your subscriptions so you can stay up to date without compromising your anonymity.
how can a card trace back to the person, has there been evidence of that?
If you don;t give an actual billing address or name, I would think there is no risk whatsover to getting the real info or knowing it.
If the card was to be traced back to the real person, it would be mandatory to enter the full billing address or name for the transaction to go through when that’s not the case with virtual cards here.
and let me get this straight, you also think privacy.com would be a victim of this yes? (since privacy.com also requires kyc either way)
I’m just saying that a card is tied to a name, that’s it.
If you use Revolut virtual card or any other regular card there is a owner tied to it and you cannot change that.
You can fill whatever you want in the billing form and be fine with that but my point is Revolut doesn’t hide anything and the virtual card is not any more private than a regular card.
Disposable cards are meant to protect from debit abuse of your credit card not concealing personal informations.
Name when you trace back to the card? or Owner?
Yes there is an owner, no, you do not have to give the real name[On a virtual card like debit or prepaid]
In fact every transaction I’ve made to hoyoverse and others (I mainly do purchases at hoyoverse but did things like steam and others before) always only had G or GL in the name of the card on the disposable card or non-disposable, and they would accept it.
Meaning it isn’t tied to a name, unless you do mean it can be traced back (with evidence)
Edit: I remembered, I would use a virtual card with hidive and a vpn and trick hidive into the billing address being in the US, still passed. Therefore virtual doesn’t simply trace back to the person in that case
Setting up Revolut for this