NoScript and YouTube

General discussion about the NoScript extension for Firefox
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JackParker
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:42 pm

NoScript and YouTube

Post by JackParker »

Hello! I'm not the most technologically inclined person, but I'm certainly not an idiot. I fully admit I only have the most basic understanding of what scripts are and I'm not always clear on the lingo/jargon.

With that said, I'm asking for help with YouTube. I would like to know what the optimal settings are for it. What to allow and not allow.

In general, I hate Google with a passion and only want to allow what I need to run the site smoothly, safely and securely.

For some reason, while I'm logged into YouTube and try to rate a comment, a new window opens and tells me I need to log in first. Is that a NoScript issue?
Also, when I click to enter a comment, a few seconds later I get a pop-up that says: "You have been logged out." Is this a NoScript issue?

I'm just trying to get Firefox and YouTube to be compatible. I was having so many issues that I used the Reset Firefox feature and have to reset all of my Add-Ons. NoScript is one of them.

Any advice (and patience) would be greatly appreciated.
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.9; rv:34.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/34.0
barbaz
Senior Member
Posts: 11066
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: NoScript and YouTube

Post by barbaz »

please list exactly all the youtube features you will want to use
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.9; rv:36.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/36.0
JackParker
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:42 pm

Re: NoScript and YouTube

Post by JackParker »

barbaz wrote:please list exactly all the youtube features you will want to use
Thank you for replying! Wow. I wasn't expecting that. Basically, I'd like to just be able to use YouTube to watch and upload videos, subscribe to channels (and allow others to do the same), rate comments and videos, add comments, create playlists...

In general, I'd like to use the site and just not be tracked, monitored or have my information mined. I don't use the Google+ channel you're forced to have. Would love to get rid of that, if possible, but I don't think it is.

Do I need to set NoScript settings for each site I visit? I'll have to make sure I find the setting to remember those settings.
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.9; rv:34.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/34.0
barbaz
Senior Member
Posts: 11066
Joined: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:45 pm

Re: NoScript and YouTube

Post by barbaz »

JackParker wrote:In general, I'd like to use the site and just not be tracked, monitored or have my information mined.
Unfortunately with YouTube that isn't possible (even the video URLs have a ton of parameters that are just information about you).
I have a really strict setup designed to minimize their tracking, and I can tell you that you will need at least "youtube.com" and "ytimg.com" Allowed for anything more than just watching videos and (limited) browsing channels.
JackParker wrote:Basically, I'd like to just be able to use YouTube to watch and upload videos, subscribe to channels (and allow others to do the same), rate comments and videos, add comments, create playlists...
I'd start with only Allowing youtube.com, ytimg.com, and googleapis.com, and see where that gets you?
(the latter must be typed manually in the whitelist box)
You may need google.com Allowed on youtube as well for comment related stuff (don't know, because I block comments outright).
Try to avoid Allowing gstatic.com on youtube if possible, because all I've seen from gstatic on youtube (now again, I have a really strict setup, so this might not be all there is) is some sort of tracking frame.

Basically, it's trial-and-error what you need and what you don't.
If allowing different script sources doesn't help, check the Browser Console (Cmd-Shift-J) and see if there are any messages relating to NoScript (usually start with "[NoScript" or "[ABE]"; post them here if you don't know what to do with them).
JackParker wrote:I'll have to make sure I find the setting to remember those settings.
Probably you're thinking NoScript menu > Make page permissions permanent
*Always* check the changelogs BEFORE updating that important software!
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.9; rv:36.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/36.0
JackParker
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:42 pm

Re: NoScript and YouTube

Post by JackParker »

Uff-da. I can see I'm going to have to spend some time learning, and getting to know, NoScript. I will take your advice on board and start there. Thanks so much for your kind help!
Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.9; rv:34.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/34.0
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