What are the best piracy tips/tricks. I host most of my own media, but I want to be able to read paywalled news articles, watch youtube w/o ads am generally into privacy, etc.
For Youtube w/o ads just use Newpipe, an open source, privacy aware, third party app. You'll never need to log into Youtube again. And it's not even piracy, even if Google might think differently 🙂
Well, I've used Newpipe for the longest time but depending on your internet connection / CGNAT'ed or, even using a VPN means it won't work unless you do sign in :/
Cannot confirm, in my usage I have never encountered this. I use Newpipe almost daily and do not have a YT login.
Occasionally Google has done something (deliberately or coincidentally) to limit third party app access, but that's usually worked around very quickly.
Did you enter into a contract saying you must watch ads to use the service? Is ad blocking against ToS? I don't think either are true, and a "click to consent" isn't legally binding. Either way, I will never not block ads as it is important from a privacy and cyber security perspective.
In that case it is a ToS violation, not piracy. You aren't paying anything, nor does google lose any money since they have been already paid. We would have to stretch the definition of piracy to include other ToS violations since it is not a financial lose.
Let's extend the scenario. If YouTube ToS required you to click every ad to use their service, would it be piracy if someone doesnt follow those instructions? I think it would be a ToS violation, but what damages could Google even seek?
I hear people sometimes mention that "Google needs to pay somehow to keep YouTube running." I have no sympathy for Google since they conspired to intentionally push out other video hosting platforms to create monopoly on the market. It is their own fault that videos aren't more spread out among providers.