How to contact someone on Youtube platform?

9 Antworten [Letzter Beitrag]
GNUser
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Beigetreten: 07/17/2013

Hello all,

So, like most people here, I don't have a Gmail account, and have started to use not the Youtube main website, but INvidious front-end.
My question is, sometimes I would like to send a message to a "youtuber", to ask about a video they uploaded, or to thank them for some information they shared on their videos. How can I do so, without having to resort to giving my identity to Google and having them reading my message?
I usually try to check if the youtuber has a personal email that I can use, but some people only use the platform own message service. How can I work around this?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

GNUser

Beko
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Beigetreten: 08/31/2019

You can still view a person's youtube page where they have all their uploads and a description of their channel.

Invidious is currently down so I am unable to check, but they usually have links to their twitter/patreon/other social media handles in their descriptions.

Twitter has a non-javascript website (janky mobile-esque) but it works. Not sure about patreon haven't used it since I went libre.

I think that the only surefire way of reaching out to a youtuber would be to make a bunch of throwaway gmails (no personal identification) for each comment that you make. This might just be overkill though :D

andyprough
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Beigetreten: 02/12/2015

Yup, Tor browser plus a trash collecting Gmail account will do the trick. I still have two trash collecting Gmail accounts that I give out to companies that require an email address and then try to bombard me with ads.

zapper (nicht überprüft)
zapper

Very wise idea.

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

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Beigetreten: 07/07/2017

> Yup, Tor browser plus a trash collecting Gmail account will do the trick. I still have two trash collecting Gmail accounts that I give out to companies that require an email address and then try to bombard me with ads.

Are you purchasing products from these companies? If so, there is a chance that some of the emails sent to your Gmail addresses are receipts or shipping confirmations containing identifying information, in which case Tor cannot keep you anonymous. Using Tor will at least protect your IP address, which is better than nothing, but if there is a shipping address in any of the emails that won't be enough to have location privacy.

Even if the none of the emails contains deanonymizing information, the accounts are still feeding data to Google. Having emails sent to the same account links them, providing data points showing that a person interested in company A is likely to be interested in companies B, C, D. Even if they can't identify you as that person, it helps train their AI to better manipulate people with similarities to you.

If you want to use Gmail for junk collection, and if these emails contain no identifying information, I suggest creating a new account for each use. If the emails do contain identifying information, then separate accounts won't prevent Google from linking them to form a profile, and it might be better to make a junk account with a less privacy-hostile email provider or use one of those temporary/disposable email services.

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

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Beigetreten: 07/07/2017

> deanonymizing information

Users attempting to use Gmail anonymously should also be aware of behavioral biometrics. The precise timing of your mouse movements and keystrokes is as unique as a physical fingerprint. Disabling JavaScript should prevent this from being collected.

Beko
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Beigetreten: 08/31/2019

Proper OPSEC when using the google throwaway accounts would be to use them once and never again because if you use it in even just two locations you risk them being tied together somehow and traced back to you.

These accounts should not be making any payments using your real name or giving your address to anywhere. These accounts also need not to write too much, because everyone has a unique way in which they form sentences and write.

You can also type in a notepad then copy+paste wherever you need to type.

Obviously should be done all through TOR.

I should do more of these but I really can't be bothered to anonymously comment on Youtube videos.

GNUser
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Beigetreten: 07/17/2013

But how to get an anonymous gmail account? They seem to ask for personal info plus phone number.

andyprough
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Beigetreten: 02/12/2015

The two that I have are old. I don't think I would sign up for a new one today.

Beko
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Beigetreten: 08/31/2019

There are online websites which have public phone numbers. You can copy their number and use it to make the account, they will send a text to that number, go to the website which you got the number from and it will show the text from google.

I would link one of these websites, but I'm afraid I don't know if it would be right for me to. I don't know if any of these websites are freedom-encroaching.