Youtube forces users to link their account to gmail

reply to post by VikingWarlord

I don't like the current trend of "sharing" all your info, or linking accounts, or sharing data across all devices. People are way too comfortable in giving up their privacy nowadays, and I just don't get it.

none of which is forced, none of which requires you to give actual personally identifying information. Google offers a host of services, and when they bought youtube AGES ago, they clearly stated they intended to fully consolodate it into the google sphere, which is why google video started clearing out within days of the youtube purchase.

I personally have a single active google account, which of course is linked to my android phone, and youtube. What does this mean for me? Seamless integration of my accounts over multiple devices, single logon for multiple services (android store, google, gmail, youtube, googledrive, google+ not that it gets used)

Microsoft windows 8 allows you to set up your windows live account as your local pc account, OMG THEYZ TRACKINGZ YOOOZ. Are you boycotting that too? Well you should, but not because of that, because it sucks, but I digress....

Nothing in life is free. Facebook isn't. ATS isn't, Google products aren't. Facebook makes money by data mining you, as well as serving ads (most of the data mining is done for ads) ATS makes money by serving ads, google makes money bu datamining and serving ads.

All of which are clearly laid out in the agreements you chose not to read.

I don't buy this "if you've got nothing to hide" argument either, that's bunk. But honestly, what kind of an idiot would do anything nefarious while linked to something that links back to them? i mean, who cares if google can link your youtube account to your gmail account, google owns both, and was data mining BOTH to begin with, all this means is a seamless experience for you, and less server load for them.

It's not a big deal at all, sometimes your paranoia is unfounded

reply to post by MsAphrodite


This isn't anything new, it has been like this for a little while now.

Fiftyfifty, you could chose to not drive and walk instead, its not as good but it is alot more "free". Not driving also helps to not polute the air, we got by fine long ago without cars and transport. If you don't get the flu vaccine, you "might" get the flu and if you are not really young/old, its not going to kill you. I am also sure that farts and BO could be held in and washed off/held off (deodorant). I'm sure you understand what I mean even if they are not perfect examples, they were free after all.

Originally posted by XL5
Fiftyfifty, you could chose to not drive and walk instead, its not as good but it is alot more "free". Not driving also helps to not polute the air, we got by fine long ago without cars and transport. If you don't get the flu vaccine, you "might" get the flu and if you are not really young/old, its not going to kill you. I am also sure that farts and BO could be held in and washed off/held off (deodorant). I'm sure you understand what I mean even if they are not perfect examples, they were free after all.

That is beside the point. It's irrelevant whether something is free or not. Yes, I drive but I choose to. I don't complain about it either. I drive because I prefer it to public transport and it is a necessity for my job. I don't get the flu vaccine because I'm not classed as 'at risk' and should be able to recover from it with over the counter medication. However, I COULD choose to have the flu vaccine if I wanted to.

Choosing to do something and then complaining about it is what I am talking about. We can only be justified in complaining about things which we have no or very little choice over such as the price of petrol/diesel, taxes, poverty, medical care etc and even those in the grand scheme of things are nothing compared to what people in other parts of the world have no choice but to endure.

Complaining about having to link a youtube account with a Gmail account is a non-issue in my view. Simply don't use them. There will be no detrimental effects on the overall quality of life. In fact, you may even see an improvement.

People have a choice to do alot of things that they complain about and if it doesn't matter that its free or not opens it up a bit. Look at flying and the TSA!

The problem is not really that you need a gmail account, the problem is that you did not have to have one before and that you have to give a real name or they make it seem like you do. We have used paper/physical money for a while now and you can bet people will complain if they change that at this point and make you get an RFID to use money AND store personal information.

Just think about what would happen if ATS made you give your real name/address, would you leave, complain or stay. When do you draw that line and say "you shall not pass!", is it when they (ATS, google, facebook and so on) want finger prints, blood samples and billboard space on the side of your home?

This isnt really a new thing, its been done before. It is anoying you need to sign in with email, but i find it more anoying how youtube wishes you to change your channel name into your real name. Its basicly alot of BS.

I understand people who complain about these things, afterall it seems google is more into tracking who their users are and what they do online, than providing a service.

reply to post by MsAphrodite


Any data you supply to Google, or YouTube or just about any 3rd party is no longer your data. It's their data, and for the most part they can do whatever they like with it. Nobody is forcing you to use Google, or YouTube. If you don't like their terms and conditions, don't use them. If you don't agree with their "ethics", don't use them. It really is as simple as that. People whining "omg all my data is belonging to Google" and bemoaning the death of the internet, well it's you're own bloody fault for being so heavily reliant on their services. They are a private company. Companies want to make profit. Consolidating databases of user data that you own across different domains makes logistical sense. Don't like it? Go somewhere else. It's called freedom.

Originally posted by XL5
People have a choice to do alot of things that they complain about and if it doesn't matter that its free or not opens it up a bit. Look at flying and the TSA!

The problem is not really that you need a gmail account, the problem is that you did not have to have one before and that you have to give a real name or they make it seem like you do. We have used paper/physical money for a while now and you can bet people will complain if they change that at this point and make you get an RFID to use money AND store personal information.

Just think about what would happen if ATS made you give your real name/address, would you leave, complain or stay. When do you draw that line and say "you shall not pass!", is it when they (ATS, google, facebook and so on) want finger prints, blood samples and billboard space on the side of your home?

Maybe things in America seem different. We don't have the TSA here and flying is normally a pleasure. There is nothing to suggest that physical cash will be scrapped in favour of RFID. by the time that would even be possible, RFID will be a defunct technology anyway. There is no evidence that this will become the main method of payment or contain all of our personal details as far as I am aware.

And finally, if ATS 'made' me give my real name and address then yes, I would leave. No love lost. To me, aside from email and company websites, the internet is more of a distraction from real life if anything. It isn't a necessity to anybody, it is a convenience.

reply to post by fiftyfifty


I might be wrong but I believe in Sweden only 2% of transactions are make with currency. The other 98% is electronic. According to the World Payments Report 2011 credit and debit cards accounted for some 40% of transactions in most markets. An interesting trend showed that while the use of electronic methods of payment are on a steady rise (5%-7%PA), the transaction amount has decreased. This says to me that the frequency increase is due to "cash like" purchases, bread, milk snacks ect, which in turn had lowered the average spend per transaction. So, we are most definitely headed towards the cashless society, in fact we're about half way there already.

WPR 2011

I have no problem with this when i log onto you tube.
There is an option to just skip all that stuff, which i choose to take.

I dont really mind the fact that google , utube and gmail are linked together at all , but what I do mind is that from time to time they want my cell phone number and want a responding text code sent to them implying that thats the only way that I could recover my password should it be `lost`.
That I do find rather nefarious.

reply to post by threewisemonkeys


I get that but again, this is down to this key word 'choice'. Paying by debit card is considerably more convenient than carrying cash but no one has dictated that we MUST make electronic transactions. There is nothing stopping the people of Sweden from drawing cash out and spending it in the old fashioned way but they choose not to. Anyhow, even if 100% of transactions were done on debit card (leaving credit cards out of the equation as they serve an altogether different purpose), this wouldn't necessarily be a problem as it is linked directly to the users bank account and is relatively secure especially compared to carrying around large quantities of cash.

reply to post by MsAphrodite


Just like everything you're stating...you made a choice to use Google's services.

You could have gotten an iPhone. You probably didn't, though, because you didn't want to use Apple's services. So you went to Android, which Google created. Your choice. Don't like it? Go to a dumb phone then.

You don't like that Youtube, owned by Google, decided to make people link their Google Mail accounts to their Google video services? Alright we hear ya. Clearly you are a very small minority because the rest of us understand the logic and reasoning here, and accept that is the true "cost" of what we are using.

So, quit using their services as you stated, but quit being so evangelical about it. You're not shaking the trees of knowledge here, you're not alerting anyone to any particularly insidious plot. You're whining that a service you use decided to do single sign on with their other services. Yes, the partly did it to help improve their data mining metrics. Guess what? They were still doing it when you had no account linking. Whatever privacy you think you had is in your head.

Originally posted by bluemooone2
I dont really mind the fact that google , utube and gmail are linked together at all , but what I do mind is that from time to time they want my cell phone number and want a responding text code sent to them implying that thats the only way that I could recover my password should it be `lost`.
That I do find rather nefarious.

Actually, it's very simple and very smart. A person who's account gets compromised is far more likely to have a text-capable phone on hand that can not be compromised in the same way an account can be. More so, the vast majority of internet users use the same username and password for almost everything they do.

So Google can make the logical assumption that if [email protected] with the password "jeebuss4ves" got compromised, chances are their [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] all got compromised as well, because johndoe almost always uses the same password.

While it can be uncomfortable to give away your number, from an account recovery standpoint, it's the quickest and arguably most effective way to ensure you can recover from it.

reply to post by fiftyfifty


I agree with you. However I think the argument is that it is precisely the convenience that is driving people towards it. In other words, a classic honeytrap. If, and I must stress the if, the vast majority of transactions are electronic, then the need for minted currency is reduced and the demand for it reduces. Before long, as the argument goes, there will be no more minted currency, and the only accepted method of payment will be electronic. Now we're 40% there, and in a relatively short period of time. It is conceivable that in my lifetime I might very well see the extinction of cash, at least in the first world. Once the world is reliant on the technology, the delivery method is neither here nor there. I agree RFID is old hat, but consider this, if there is only one method of payment, the individual has little choice or control in how that might manifest itself. The main concern at this stage in the game is getting rid of the cash.

why do they need your email to sign in other than to sell it to advertisers so they can spam your account.

its a free video sharing website, now it's become a data mine.

congress and parliaments around the world should be passing laws stopping this crap. no email should be required to log into any website unless you voluntarily agree to it.

an email is not required to login into a website, only a password and log in name.

Originally posted by randomname
congress and parliaments around the world should be passing laws stopping this crap. no email should be required to log into any website unless you voluntarily agree to it.

Which you do when you sign up, that's how it works. Governments only job should be controlling what they can do with your data, not how they should run their site, or the requirements to join said site. Its very simple, have 2 gmail accounts. Use one for private (lol) mail only and the other for signing in to any Google services you don't wish linked to your "main" gmail account. Sheesh. Hardly brain surgery. Or..... you could learn programming and start your own super awesome totally free with no ads ever search engine... and put Google out of business. But then you'd be fixing things instead on moaning and I recon you actually quite like moaning.

reply to post by MsAphrodite


Yes I have an acct at YouTube, never need to log in. I dont get it. Ive watched for years and years and NEVER...NEVER... log in...EVER....and watch whatever I want, whenever I want. Why does one feel you HAVE to log in? You dont!

So youre not gonna use it because why? I just now watched Ancient Aliens last episode and a Led Zepplin Live piece. No log in needed.

So I dont understand any concern....and Im again watching it now as we speak. No log in. No personal in info...nothing.

So, whats up? And thats not good enough for you? You can still watch it.

reply to post by thecsb

I understand people who complain about these things, afterall it seems google is more into tracking who their users are and what they do online, than providing a service.

Hardly. They track you TO provide the best service they can. I don't understand people who complain about things like this. i mean, if your government stated you HAVE to create a gmail account, whatever. As well you can opt out of plenty of the tracking in various ways.

This just smacks of that apple related south park episode.
"you didn't read the agreement???!!!"

Now I do have to say, I was a little un-easy about it converting my channel name into my real name, but again this was a CHOICE offered to me by google, I could keep it as it was, or change it. Once it's changed, people can still find you by using your old youtube name.

That said.... google does next to nothing to make you prove who you are. In fact the only time I saw anything close was having to provide an SMS number when trying to make too many gmail accounts from the same IP. Other than that, you can basically fill it all in with BS, like most people do.

Honestly, if you are so concerned about this tracking of your habits, kill yourself now, you are being tracked every which way...

Have phone or internet? Monitored
Credit card? Monitored
Have any of those credit type cards from any retail store? Monitored

At least google TELLS you this upfront, very very clearly, I suggest people start reading the stuff they agree too before they complain.

reply to post by mysterioustranger

Yes I have an acct at YouTube, never need to log in. I dont get it. Ive watched for years and years and NEVER...NEVER... log in...EVER....and watch whatever I want, whenever I want. Why does one feel you HAVE to log in? You dont!

Youtube requires you to log in if:

You are attempting to upload a video (well duh)
Are attempting to watch an age restricted or flagged as possibly inappropriate video

Now, if you want youtube to track your views, let you comment on videos, etc etc, then you have to log in