I use a Password manager and only have free software on main laptop computer. Fake emails, phone numbers, names wherever possible. Noscript in firefox based browsers. Self hosting services at home. For services I do not want my identity attached to shuf -n1 /usr/share/dict/words for usernames. I avoid all non-fediverse social media platforms with no free front end whenever possible. I use rss feeds and mpv for playing youtube videos. I use libredirect with free software frontends. I do not run proprietary software on my main laptop, I use a second laptop, a virtual machine or don’t run the software (for example when I need to use zoom I might run it on a second laptop and use a capture card.). I seperate different online activities with different browsers with different firefox colorways to prevent confusion (for example Firefox ESR for normal personal browsing, Normal firefox for vpn browsing, Firefox Dev Edition for school and college).
My kid watches some specific things we’ve deemed okay on youtube but there’s constant “you may also like” creep that he ends up finding, and it’s always garbage, this might be the way to finally limit the content to the specific stuff we’ve agreed to.
I configured the newsboat rss reader for my youtube subscriptions, but you may want to configure another reader that allows you to download/watch videos. An alternative to @[email protected]’s javascript code, you can go onto the homepage of a youtube channel, open up the page source and search for “rssurl”. That will give you the rss feed for the channel.
A lot of readers can do this automatically. It really is nice to watch videos without any of the suggestions or ads. Also, if you use mpv to watch the videos, you can install a sponsorblock script that does away with the paid promotions in the video.
Yes, this bookmarklet javascript:(function () { var newLocation = function () { var url; Array.prototype.slice.call(document.getElementsByTagName('link')).forEach(function (element) { if (element.getAttribute('type') === 'application/rss+xml') { console.log('Found direct feed link'); url = element.getAttribute('href'); } }); if (!url) { Array.prototype.slice.call(document.getElementsByTagName('meta')).forEach(function (element) { if (element.getAttribute('itemprop') === 'channelId') { console.log('Found channel ID'); url = 'https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=' + element.getAttribute('content'); } }); } return url; }(); if (newLocation === undefined) { console.log('Could not find a channel RSS feed from ' + location.href); } else { location.href = newLocation; } })(); Will convert a youtube channel page to a rss feed. I watch the videos using photon and mpv but that is probably too advanced for your kid but a simpler app might work.
I use a Password manager and only have free software on main laptop computer. Fake emails, phone numbers, names wherever possible. Noscript in firefox based browsers. Self hosting services at home. For services I do not want my identity attached to
shuf -n1 /usr/share/dict/wordsfor usernames. I avoid all non-fediverse social media platforms with no free front end whenever possible. I use rss feeds and mpv for playing youtube videos. I use libredirect with free software frontends. I do not run proprietary software on my main laptop, I use a second laptop, a virtual machine or don’t run the software (for example when I need to use zoom I might run it on a second laptop and use a capture card.). I seperate different online activities with different browsers with different firefox colorways to prevent confusion (for example Firefox ESR for normal personal browsing, Normal firefox for vpn browsing, Firefox Dev Edition for school and college).How many layers do you use in your tin foil hat?
Edit: /s
RRS feeds for youtube?
My kid watches some specific things we’ve deemed okay on youtube but there’s constant “you may also like” creep that he ends up finding, and it’s always garbage, this might be the way to finally limit the content to the specific stuff we’ve agreed to.
I configured the
newsboatrss reader for my youtube subscriptions, but you may want to configure another reader that allows you to download/watch videos. An alternative to @[email protected]’s javascript code, you can go onto the homepage of a youtube channel, open up the page source and search for “rssurl”. That will give you the rss feed for the channel.A lot of readers can do this automatically. It really is nice to watch videos without any of the suggestions or ads. Also, if you use
mpvto watch the videos, you can install a sponsorblock script that does away with the paid promotions in the video.Yes, this bookmarklet
javascript:(function () { var newLocation = function () { var url; Array.prototype.slice.call(document.getElementsByTagName('link')).forEach(function (element) { if (element.getAttribute('type') === 'application/rss+xml') { console.log('Found direct feed link'); url = element.getAttribute('href'); } }); if (!url) { Array.prototype.slice.call(document.getElementsByTagName('meta')).forEach(function (element) { if (element.getAttribute('itemprop') === 'channelId') { console.log('Found channel ID'); url = 'https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=' + element.getAttribute('content'); } }); } return url; }(); if (newLocation === undefined) { console.log('Could not find a channel RSS feed from ' + location.href); } else { location.href = newLocation; } })();Will convert a youtube channel page to a rss feed. I watch the videos using photon and mpv but that is probably too advanced for your kid but a simpler app might work.Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/feeds/videos
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.