yt-dlp or embedded youtube links say "Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot" but for me the whole plan of this operation is that i don't have to do that.
that's pretty bad
(edit: it works again, i changed nothing just waited)
this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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Privacy
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This is network-specific. It's been going on for a few months at least. yt-dlp itself still works without sign-in, if your network is not "suspicious".
Always worth making sure you're updated to the latest version of yt-dlp, but this is probably a network thing.
yt-dlp hasn't worked for me for a few months on Mullvad. Using Swiss and Swedish servers but I've tried a couple other countries too, same problem.
I don't think you can expect any VPN to work without sign-in for very long. Google's playing whack-a-mole with VPNs.
I've never actually tried signing in with yt-dlp. How easy is it to make a throwaway google account nowadays? Do they require phone verification or something similarly onerous?
I think yt-dlp allows you to use your browser's cookies to appear as a signed in user for downloading videos. I never bothered trying that.
I make throwaway Google accounts semi-frequently, though I don't remember what they require. If you have a phone number it's definitely sufficient but I don't remember if you can make one without a phone number. If they require a phone number you can just buy a cheap sim card (in cash if you care about privacy) and use that. It costs money so if you need hundreds of throwaway accounts maybe not, but if it's just one for downloading videos then it's probably NBD, you'd be spending money on the VPN anyway.