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Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

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Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#21

Post by shp0ngle »

werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

You can delete your YouTube history, which will make the recommendations usually disappear.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#22

Post by eCa »

werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

Click the three dots and then either "Not interested" or "Don't recommend channel".

Seems to work reasonably well for me.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#23

Post by alpaca128 »

werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

Yes, I always hesitate to mark YT videos as unwanted because often it's from a channel I otherwise like a lot and I have no idea how YT will behave after that. Considering the site is known for even auto-cancelling subscriptions sometimes it feels like a UX minefield.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#24

Post by wodenokoto »

I think Netflix is the worst offender.

If you spend a minute too long looking at the menu for a movie it will not only auto play, but for the foreseeable future Netflix will assume you’re watching it, want to finish watching it and watch similar stuff.

More than most other services Netflix doesn’t trust your ratings or your lists when making up recommendations.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#25

Post by cookguyruffles »

shp0ngle wrote: post #21
werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

You can delete your YouTube history, which will make the recommendations usually disappear.

I never log into YouTube and this still happens, it's at least in part keyed to IP address

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#26

Post by Ticklee »

eCa wrote: post #22
werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

Click the three dots and then either "Not interested" or "Don't recommend channel". Seems to work reasonably well for me.

I wish someone would make an extension that makes this a simple hover+keypress instead of multiple clicks. As it stands right now it is too much of a hassle to manually click 2 times per video. But if you do not then youtube will continue to plaster that video on your homescreen for weeks.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#27

Post by alpaca128 »

eCa wrote: post #22
werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

Click the three dots and then either "Not interested" or "Don't recommend channel". Seems to work reasonably well for me.

What if it's from a channel I like but don't want to watch that one video...will clicking on this reduce suggestions from this channel, will it do nothing, will it unsubscribe me from that channel(as has happened in the past), ...?

Nobody knows, I only know I don't want to play this game.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#28

Post by nichch »

jackjeff wrote: post #16

Fair enough. But to what extent would the algorithm know about you if you clear cookies/storage data though? I also imagine changing IP addresses help… does Google use IP as a source for profiling?

I can’t speak for what data points Google uses for tracking, however... with JavaScript, there is a plethora of information that can be used to uniquely identify you across IPs, and even across browsers. [0]

If you’re logged in to a service on multiple devices you have now linked multiple fingerprints to your account that can be compared against third party data.

A VPN will not protect you from this tracking.

[0] https://amiunique.org/

(I’ve plugged this site before, so I feel like I should say I am not affiliated with it)

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#29

Post by crispyambulance »

I don't know how common this is, but I've gotten into the habit of creating "personas"-- different users that have different habits and are interested in different things, yet all me.

It's insane that I feel it helpful to take on "multiple personalities", but there it is.

Part of it is that these algorithms are fairly one-track. They can mix it up a bit, but it's always too much of one thing and too little of another. They can't truly comport with the reality that someone can have multiple interests and tastes.

Re: Afraid to Google a thing because I don't want the algorithm to think I like it

#30

Post by beforeolives »

shp0ngle wrote: post #21
werid wrote: post #20

It's annoying clicking some youtube link only to find it was something you really don't want more of, and then youtube proceed to recommend much more of it, even though you barely watched any of it. kinda forces me to watch something else that is new but at least somewhat wanted in an attempt to make the algorithm look at the new shiny i'm interested in and forget the previous one. i find it funny though when amazon…

You can delete your YouTube history, which will make the recommendations usually disappear.

This will kind of clean up your current recommendations but it doesn't reset the recommendation algorithm like it used to. The algorithm still retains memory of your past behaviour.

For example if I consistently listen to 3 unrelated songs [A B C] on youtube together, the algorithm will regularly recommend them to me (because of my unique behaviour, not because they're similar). If I reset my history and then listen to song A, then B and C get immediately recommended even though they aren't similar to A and they don't exist in my listening history which means that the information about my listening/browsing habits is still there in the recommendation model.

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