Overview
YouTube video embeds loaded via iframe on third-party websites. Standard embeds set cookies and transmit data to Google's infrastructure on page load. The privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com) defers some cookie setting to playback rather than page load, but does not eliminate tracking. Although rendered as a visible social-embed widget, YouTube feeds viewing data into Google's advertising network - treat as tracking.
Detection capabilities
- Signature count
- 4
- Detection methods
- network
- Property types
- hostnamepathname
Performance impact
Performance Impact
- Requests per page
- 2
Common mistakes
- 1Embedding YouTube videos using the standard embed URL (youtube.com) instead of the privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com), which causes cookies to be set on page load before the user interacts with the video
- 2Assuming that youtube-nocookie.com eliminates all tracking - it defers cookie setting until playback but still makes network requests to Google servers that transmit IP addresses and other data
- 3Not blocking YouTube embeds behind consent because video content is considered essential, when the tracking functionality bundled with the embed clearly requires advertising consent
- 4Using a facade or placeholder image approach but loading the full YouTube iframe in the background, which negates the privacy benefit
- 5Failing to account for YouTube embeds in the cookie audit - the VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE, YSC, and GPS cookies set by YouTube are often missing from cookie declarations
- 6Not recognising that YouTube embeds feed data into Google's advertising network even when the video itself is not monetised
Related services
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