Recently I've started seeing videos that I know for a fact I never started watching, showing a bit of progress bar, implying that I started but didn't finish the video:



That seems like a pretty obvious attempt to lure me into watching something that the algorithm has determined I need to watch, and I would be satisfied with that explanation alone, but...

Also it has decided that I am intensely interested in two specific hotbutton social/political topics that I am absolutely not interested in, and it keeps steering me toward them. I click on a funny cat video and afterwards it shows maybe one or two more cat videos and then right back to one or the other of the things that I don't care about.

These two things combined make it feel more like someone else has been using my youtube login to watch things that they're interested in, corrupting the dossier that youtube AI keeps about me. I am fairly certain that this is not actually the case but I have changed my password more than once to make sure, yet it persists.

Now I am wondering what prerogative there could be for YouTube to deliberately do this. Any ideas? Similar experiences?

P.s. I pay for YouTube premium so there are no ads. So I don't see how advertising could be part of it.

 

Have you tried clearing the history in your browser? That's what it uses to target your "preferences",

 

Have you tried clearing the history in your browser? That's what it uses to target your "preferences",

I use 99% the YouTube app on my phone, not a web browser.

 

Then I guess that little AI gremlin in your youtube app is trying to get you into some new interests. Good luck.

 

Or someone else us using your account.

 

Sometimes if you even just hover over a video with your mouse it will count that as "watching" it. Even if it's just that your mouse lingered over it briefly. However, in the case of the mobile app...I'm not sure. I have seen it a couple times in mine (even on videos I haven't hovered over), but I exclusively use the browser.

 

When you see a selection of videos on the menu, some of them will play in miniature to rope you in. I'm sure it is using CPU cycles you are paying for one way or another.

 

The exact same thing's been happening to me. My guess is that it's just a ruse by YouTube to make you watch more content.

 

My conclusion, from long ago: the solution is to clean the whole search history in Youtube and Google that, no surprise, depending of your OS and its version does change format for each one. That's what makes it difficult.

In some versions they seem to still retain partial data of your previous selections, no matter what.

 

I sincerely don't know for sure, but it would not surprise me an Iota if YT it is beta-testing a revision of its algorithm.
And you were selected as a test subject because...reasons.
Don't quote me, this is my febrile mind working overtime.

 

All the social media apps are trying tricks to increase engagement, views and ad revenue.

Send a complaint to YT that if they don't stop it, you will stop paying.