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> But I don't want to use the cookies, I used youtube-dl exactly to watch age-restricted videos without signing-in.

Yes, and I want a pony. We can absolutely discuss how useful or harmful age verification on the internet is, (and your points about tracking are certainly valid) - but fact is that Google implemented it.

It is not youtube-dl's job to circumvent that. Their responsibility is letting me download the videos to my hard drive that I can already view in my browser. They never advertised themselves as a tool to circumvent access restrictions.

If the new age verification broke youtube-dl in such a way that you couldn't download the video at all, I think the outrage would be justified - but that isn't the case.




It's just FAANG being FAANG. Why make working software when you can make non-working software?


It's not about software, it's about appeasing advertisers and puritans who want to keep the children safe. It's a legal and business issue.




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