this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
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Google just broke all third-party YT clients, including yt-dlp; a full JS implementation is now required. (github.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org to c/technology@lemmy.world
242 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.org/post/1872634

So, starting now, Google started mandating full JS for YT, effectively breaking all third-party clients and locking the site to their official client.

This reeks of DRM.

UPDATE: Installing Deno and installing yt-dlp through PyPi fixes yt-dlp but the very idea that Google is mandating JS to lock down YT in an attempt at pseudo-DRM is still crappy.

UPDATE #2: inv.nadeko.net is working again for now.

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[–] DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org 17 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The end game is to take full control. If Google implements Widevine on YT, and especially Widevine L1, that'll be their Hiroshima bomb for both third-party front-ends and downloaders, and even non-Android, ChromeOS, Apple, or Windows platforms as far as OS goes and non-Chrome or Edge browsers.

Like, say Google implemented Widevine L1 on YT streams at some point in the future, it would be entirely feasible that you'd be looking at Netflix-style lockdowns to Edge on Win11, or even Chrome on Win11 for that matter, with both SecureBoot and TPM2 in place, if you wanted to watch YT on PC in the future, else you'd be limited to Rokus to watch it.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That would be their poison pill. Youtube's advantage is in it's ubiquity. Lose that, you lose countless users.

[–] DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They'd sooner replace those users with home-grown AI slop the way they're moving right now.

[–] Mora@pawb.social 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The perfect business case: AI users watching AI ads before AI videos. No pesky users to deal with👍

[–] T156@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

But also, they're not real users watching those ads and getting impressions. Unless people are using an agent system that could be convinced to buy the product, it doesn't seem like it would be that useful.

You may as well serve ads to standard viewbot at that point.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 16 hours ago

I'm pretty sure they were sarcastic.