There's browser extensions that can replace the thumbnails, which are becoming negative signals to me, but apparently everyone is forced to use due to "the algo

There's browser extensions that can replace the thumbnails, which are becoming negative signals to me, but apparently everyone is forced to use due to "the algorithm". You can also subscribe to channels via RSS if you don't want any recommendations distracting you. If you've clicked on something that Youtube has suddenly decided you like they suggest this: > How YouTube recommends videos > Your activity on YouTube, such as your watch and search history, influences your recommendations and can help you find information that you’re interested in faster. For example, if you watch a lot of sports videos and search for 'cricket', we might recommend videos with the sport cricket rather than nature videos with crickets in them. >You’re in control > You can influence your recommendations by pausing or deleting your watch history and search history in your Activity controls. Learn more about how you can manage your recommendations and search results. But I've found just telling it "don't recommend this channel" is usually enough to get rid of stuff I don't want.