toolbear, 1 month ago

#LazyWeb query about why a #YouTube #download isn't deterministic.

OBSERVATION:

Download the same video multiple times using yt-dlp URL. The contents aren't the same even minutes apart. The SHA256 hashes don't match.

QUESTION

Why does this happen?

SPECULATION

• yt-dlp doesn't strip out sponsors in a deterministic way

• YouTube tweaks the bitrate on the fly despite requesting the highest quality

• YouTube adds steganographic fingerprints to thwart downloaders via state violence