When you share a YouTube video using the share button it adds “si=some_unique_code” to the URL. If you don’t remove that it shows your personal account to anyone who receives it so that they can chat directly with you. For a lot of people this is their real name.

I’ve seen it all over Lemmy so I figured I’d mention it here! You only need the stuff before the question mark in the URL to let others see the video.

This can also be turned off in your YouTube settings under the privacy section. The setting is “channel visibility for shared links”. It will still add the si code for tracking though.

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[–] 34 points 3 months ago (12 children)

The frequency with which I've seen the si attribute included in youtube links has made me painfully aware of just how many people are not using the internet the same way I do; they're experiencing the internet through a handful of mobile apps, not through a web browser on the desktop.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 months ago (5 children)

    Even then.. what proportion of people do you think know the parts of a URL? Or know what a URL even is...

    You may be in a bubble, friend

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  • [–] 7 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    I know all this stuff and even I don't look at the technical stuff in the URL. I just make sure it doesn't have dQw4w9WgXcQ in there.

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