Is there even a point of using a VPN on Google's Android? (Example: Watching Youtube on Firefox browser while logged-out)

[zzffyfajzkzhnsweqm@sh.itjust.works]

You can use firefox. Or degoogled andoid rom.
Google spies on your phone mostly through their apps: chrome, maps...

Andoid by itself is very privacy focused operating system.

Check c/degoogle on how to remove google stuff from your phone.
Also check privacy guides about vpns: https://www.privacyguides.org/en/vpn/

They are mostly not what they are advertised as.
You should check tor. And maybe /e/os

[idkwhatusernametoputherelolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

I want to watch Youtube videos without Google knowing that it was me

[zerush@lemmy.ml]

InviZible Pro is a good option. Download from F-Droid

[sem@lemmy.ml]

Yes. For me reasons of VPN on Android (even with Google) are following:

1. Most of greedy apps are trying to collect info about your location. Because in most of the cases you will restrict direct access to the location data, apps will try to do it through IP. VPN resolve this problem at all.
2. A lot of greedy apps or websites are trying to do fingerprinting to identity your logs. While it is possible in theory to do fingerprinting by fuzzy matching all-logs against all-logs, the task is so computationally heavy that the only way is to try to do fuzzy-matching (aka fingerprinting) within the locations. VPN allows you to hide your location.

Of course one may say that VPN does not provide a 100% protections from fingerprinting, I think there should be applied the same approach like in cyber security: the goal is not to protect yourself by 100% but to make attack so expensive that it does not make sense. VPN makes fingerprinting so hard that noone will really do it until you are a journalist, intelligence officer or something like this.

[termight@lemmy.ml]

A VPN does not provide inherent inherent security. It is only as trustworthy as the entity providing it. As I understand it, A VPN to a safe LAN with firewall or such, yes. A VPN to a sketchy third party that will basically log everything you do, no.

[uncle_moustache@sh.itjust.works]

Try NewPipe

[uncle_moustache@sh.itjust.works]

Online privacy typically requires that you think of what you are trying to protect yourself from.

So, what are you trying to prevent?

A VPN will make your public IP address private. This can hide some activity from your ISP, hackers, marketing companies. However, it's only one layer of protection.

You could also use NewPipe as a replacement to the YouTube app.

However, some VPN companies will track you and sell your information. Because of this, I recommend ProtonVPN (free tier, Swiss-based, encrypted traffic that they can't even de-anonymize).

If you want more complete privacy, you'd want to use something like a Tor Box, but these aren't typically good for streaming because the layered routing makes for a slow Internet connection.

[theprotagonist@lemmy.world]

Is this even possible? My impression is that nowadays Google, whenever they have the impression that a connection to YouTube may been proxied, require a sign-in to prove that ""you are no bot" (I wonder which bots are watching YT videos), but in fact to avoid access via VPN or proxying via Invidious or Piped.

That's the reason why YouTube is essentially dead for me now.

[electric_nan@lemmy.ml]

I use PipePipe and Mullvad to watch YouTube everyday. Occasionally it complains, and I just have to change the VPN server.

[idkwhatusernametoputherelolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Is this even possible? My impression is that nowadays Google, whenever they have the impression that a connection to YouTube may been proxied, require a sign-in to prove that "“you are no bot”

On Mullvad/IVPN, if you keep change the server, you'll eventually find one that works. Might have to switch like 7-10 times.

On ProtonVPN, they have way more servers, so you only need to change the server 2-3 times. I actually didn't need to change the server the last time I used ProtonVPN.

[theprotagonist@lemmy.world]

I have no Android, so sadly I cannot test / use this setup.

[electric_nan@lemmy.ml]

Ah, I see. At the least though, it demonstrates that it is still possible to watch YouTube via proxy.

[theprotagonist@lemmy.world]

I am not even so much concerned about Google / YT getting my IP (by using a VPN), but I would only watch it though an alternative ad-blocking frontend (like Invidious, Piped, FreeTube) and not the standard YT website or app.

None of my previously used alternative apps / frontends seems to be working anymore (at least that's my recent experience). Not sure what the difference to (Android) apps, that apparently still work (NewPipe, PipePipe) actually is, but it seems that these apps are the only remaining alternative frontends.

[Guest]

Hide your traffic from isp.
Actually android can be independent from google in various ways like grapheneOS installation.

[engineergaming@feddit.nl]

For me it's pretty much mandatory because Youtube is normally blocked

[idkwhatusernametoputherelolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

Why is it blocked? Censorship?

[pipariturbiini@sopuli.xyz]

VPN provides security in-transit between you and the VPN server. That's it. Either end can nullify that security by leaking data before or after it is encrypted.

[mac@lemm.ee]

Logs? Android apps can't access other android apps logs

[goretantath@lemm.ee]

I use another app to watch youtube, not their official app or official website.

[sem@lemmy.ml]

*logs on the server of app creator.