Which makes me point out another issue with subscriptions: they require you to be connected to one account to watch videos. While I have a google account, I'm not always connected to it when watching YT, and I don't want to be forced to.
Exactly the problem with that, happened to me today, while watching those videos.
Background, I was preparing, a fairly large order, elsewhere (Amazon). During which time, I spent a long time (Amazon obviously spies on me), putting an extra item or items into my basket/order, and/or looking fairly extensively at a certain item. But there was an issue with it, on further research, so I stopped buying that item and/or removed it/any from my cart.
So, during my adventures on YouTube, that very item (or a competitors version of the same item), comes up as an advert. That really annoys me. Partly because I've decided not to buy it, so that should be that, unless I change my mind, but also on privacy grounds.
Who exactly gets all this, supposedly private data, and what do they do with it? (no need to answer, I can guess, partly).
In the case of Amazon, the information is particularly sensitive. Because I was signed in, so they know exactly who I am. Therefore, they should NOT be exploiting my information like that.
They (Amazon), may claim I (and others) signed up for it, when I agreed to their terms and conditions. But these days, terms and conditions, are often, perhaps a hundred or more pages long, written in horrible, difficult to read or understand legalese and presented (typically) in a smallish rectangle, in a ridiculously tiny font, in a way which is horrible to read from.
Also, it is potentially shown, when you are just excitedly about to buy something for the first time, from somewhere, so just want to give them your details, and get on with the transaction.
I don't know what the solution is. Except perhaps VPN's or similar, for everyone. Except that I suspect that a huge majority of the population, don't know about all this data gathering, what its consequence are going to be, or how to prevent it.
Even with VPN's, at various times, it would be necessary to sign in to various things, perhaps with your real details, otherwise various things, e.g. purchases, can't easily take place.
Analogy. It is as if all the dwellings were made entirely out of glass, so anyone outside, could see in. With cameras, everywhere, whereby a huge number of people and organisations, can see what you are doing.
Hence Google's YouTube subscriptions, are probably a definite no no, from me. Purely from the privacy point of view, as there would be no easy way of hiding, ones activities.
I know you can mess around, and create a subscription in another country, under a false name. But I shouldn't need to go to such extremes, just to keep my 'data' private from google.
Example:
By knowing what YouTube videos I watch, one can tell what my interests are and things like that. So it should be strictly private information.
Sometimes I've looked up the details on potentially better ISP's, in the UK. This has resulted in some cases, in my internet service provider (ISP), not long after, writing to me, offering various deals. Hinting at a "please stay with us".
As I see it, it is ridiculous that they (ISP) are spying on my, like that. They have no right, in my opinion. In a worst case situation, they have access to all my internet web URL, activities and even the raw data (depending on if it was encrypted or not). So it is potentially problematic, and who knows what third parties, can get any of it.
E.g. What URL's a person visits, how often and at what times. Along with their real life contact details (in a worst case scenario).
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