I’m not actually sure if this works but If anyone else wants to try it out and give me feedback feel free.

#Adblock #Tor

Using Tor to Avoid Ads on YouTube

Configure Tor to use only exit nodes from countries with few or no YouTube ads.

WARNING: Do not try this unless you understand the implications it has for your system wide tor setup. TorBrowser does way more than merely proxy Traffic through Tor, but also prevent #InformationLeakage and block tracking code. This is not a substitute for using the TorBrowser and does not improve your anonymity.

Tor Configuration

Edit /etc/tor/torrc:

ExitNodes {AL},{MD},{GE},{AM}{VN}
StrictNodes 1

Then restart Tor:

sudo systemctl restart tor

FoxyProxy Setup

1. Add a new proxy:

2. Set proxy mode to: Proxy by Patterns

3. Add URL patterns and assign them to the proxy above:

ytimg.com and googlevideo.com are required – without them thumbnails and video playback will fail through the proxy.

Notes

• StrictNodes 1 forces Tor to only use the listed countries – it will stall rather than fall back
• Ukraine and Romania will handle most traffic; Albania has decent exit node coverage
• If buffering is bad, try capping YouTube quality at 480p

So Far so good, I have run into the occasional “not available in your country”, but not a single ad so far.

@gravitas Does running it through tor make it slow and lower quality? I have not used tor in ages, and it use to be painfully slow.

@gravitas I'd disrecommend manual @torproject / #Tor.configuration unless you know EXACTLY what you do.

• #TorBrowser does way more than merely proxy Traffic through Tor, but also prevent #InformationLeakage and block tracking code.
  • You do run the risk of subverting your anonymization efforts to a degree that way!

So I do disrecommend doing this, and instead use if not #TorBrowser, then at least @Waterfox / #Waterfox with #SponsorBlock and #uBlockOrigin if not #NoScript in incognito mode...

@Fratm @gravitas obviously it will slow it down and it's disrecommended for that...

But outside of streaming Video, #Tor is decebtly fast.

• In fact I've used it as #PerformanceProxy for 15+ yeard now in #EDGEland!

@kkarhan @torproject @Waterfox Yes, Fair enough to say this is just not recommended in general, Its something i’m doing to test a specific use case and its easier then manually finding proxies for the given countries.

But here’s an interesting fact: #TorBrowser doesn’t use the same tor connection as the one that uses the systemwide /etc/tor/torrc . So while I’ll again stress this is not recommended unless you know what you’re doing, it won’t actually affect the standard Tor browser. (or at least this is the case when i test on my system, could differ on windows,mac, etc)

It’s not that slow but even if it was I’d use dial up before i put up with ads.

@gravitas yeah.

I just wanted to put this out so that "#TechIlliterates" don't think this is a valid substitute for @torproject / #TorBrowser…

@Fratm So far my experience the worst its got was buffering for a second or 2 at the start which i’ll take over an ad anyday. 1080p video streams fine one it gets started. Its always possible to get a slower exit node for one reason or another, but in general speeds on tor are normally fine for streaming video.

…which reminds me I neet to setup an onion address for my peertube instance.

@kkarhan Yeah good call, I’ve amended the original post with a warning.

@gravitas foxyproxy with tor is bussinnn the container tabs option with it is peak if ur on Firefox/librewolf

@gravitas np & thx.