Wow, so you use a VPN with your YouTube premium account? Don’t you fear being banned if Google notices that you’re appearing to come from several different countries???
YouTube got their money, not likely to ban them I’d suppose.
Most of YouTube’s funds are from advertising so I’m sure they’d be keeping an eye on users that try to circumvent their advertisements. This is why I always use YouTube without any extra security measures like a VPN because I’m worried about getting different video content than other users.
I always use YouTube as it was supposed to be used for fear of receiving different video content.
This is an example of YouTube serving different videos to users who have an ad blocker installed:
Ad blocker users say YouTube videos are skipping to the end, playing without audio | TechSpot
The article said the ad block detection happens on Opera GX, but currently works on Firefox with uBlock Origin installed. So far, I have not had any issues on any of my browsers. Google Chrome does not allow you to install uBlock Origin, only the Lite version.
I do not believe YouTube will ban you if you’re using YouTube Premium with a VPN because you’re a paying customer. From my experience, my VPN does get blocked if I’m watching YouTube without an account, usually with the message “Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot”. Switching to a different country does resolve this issue.
As for “different video content”, of course you would get different content if you’re connected to a different country. If you connect to your own country, you shouldn’t have this issue. But even so, YouTube algorithms are designed to recommend content that does well on the platform, not content that’s personalized for you.
It’s best to watch YouTube without engaging on the platform. For example, you can install FreeTube (PC) or NewPipe (Android) or even YouTube Revanced. I prefer the first two options because they give you more control over the content you watch and you don’t have to go directly to YouTube. OR you can add YouTube channels to your RSS feed and go directly to YouTube through your RSS feed. If you have Brave installed, it has ad-block built-in and you can also disable recommended content / shorts to avoid their algorithms.
If you know exactly what content to watch, there should be no “fear” of being recommended different content.
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Almost all front-end platforms share the same issues: difficult to use via VPN and lack automatic subtitle translation.
Creating a separate Google account is an excellent solution.
Anonymous registration
Use via VPN
Limit usage to YouTube services only
Configure it within a separate browser user profile, such as Brave or Firefox.
Use an ad blocker.
Google trackers are blocked, ads are intercepted, and your real IP remains hidden. Google knows which videos I watch but cannot link me to other information. Unless the threat model is extremely high, there’s little cause for concern. If worried about advanced fingerprinting, use Mullvad Browser or IronFox.
Privacy and practicality strike a balance.
That’s getting increasingly difficult as well, unfortunately.
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It’s not that hard, just a bit pricey.
Google assumes accounts without phone numbers are likely bots, not humans.
- Get an anonymous SIM card that can send/receive texts. Must be held long-term. Avoid virtual numbers—they won’t receive verification codes.
- Register using a VPN, IP location matching your SIM’s country.
- Preferably register within the EU for stronger privacy laws.
- Wait several months for risk control levels to decrease, then discard your SIM.
This approach only hides information from Google—it doesn’t protect against state-level adversaries. While you can anonymously obtain a SIM, you cannot anonymously use it.
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This is a fine. For me personally, though, I just can’t justify buying a SIM card for a couple of months just for Google. I’d understand if I had to have a Google account for something important, but not if it’s anything below that like watching YouTube.
And by “difficult”, I didn’t mean hard or anythin. That’s a subjective point. I’m referring to the fact that they are growing increasingly hostile to anonymous sign ups. If your fingerprint or IP or number is even remotely “suspicious”, you are considered a bot. And this is what’s difficult with them.
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I use NewPipe. Sometimes it doesn’t work so I reboot my tablet or disconnect and reconnect from wifi to reset my MAC address on GrapheneOS. If NewPipe stops working Grayjay is an alternative. If that fails Brave Browser is used until the apps are updated. NewPipe can always update my subscription list, even when it can’t play videos.
I get mixed results with Proton VPN. The service running on my router is reliable but enabling it on my device typically results in failure. I don’t use a Google account.
If all else fails yt-dlp allows me to watch offline or I take a break from YT for a few days.
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If you get the “Content unavailable“ error on Newpipe you can just close the video and reopen again a few times and the video should play as normal again. They are working on a fix.
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I use Grayjay and ProtonVPN. Something I’ve found is that I seem to have more problems on US servers and fewer problems on (most) other countries.
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I have had the same problems. I just go to my VPN app and switch locations to make it work. Sometimes I have to do it more than once. Very annoying…
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Australia proxy is working well for me right now.
Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet for this one aside if you’re willing to pay as cuyholc6857 mentioned.
I ensure I’m not using any browser (tabs opened with potential tracking). I use Freetube + change VPN connection until it works.
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I use MullvadVPN with Croatia Connection. Using this since nearly 2 years now i had never any problems with it.