HACKER Q&A
📣 pera

Is YouTube blocking all anonymous VPN users?


Since yesterday everytime I try to watch any video on YouTube I get a message saying: "Sign in to confirm you're not a bot"

I was wondering if this is just an issue with Mullvad or if YouTube is now against VPNs in general.

  👤 chatmasta Accepted Answer ✓
I use Firefox for leisure browsing, and I'm signed into a separate Google account in that browser. It's actually nice because it tracks my history and the recommendations are better than whatever creepily borderline relevant content the empty algorithm wants to feed me.

You can make a Google account without providing phone or email, too. You just need to setup a temporary WebAuthN device (like a virtual one in Chrome DevTools) to unlock the option to use a TOTP for 2FA (otherwise there is a UX dark pattern that implies you need to give a phone number before you can use TOTP).

👤 thelastparadise
Yeah they're blocking us as well. They seem to be ratcheting up their lock downs. Also, the recommendations seem to be only getting worse over time (similar to the main Google search.)