> when they offer an option to not track my activity
this right here, im not opposed to paying for content, but the tracking and sharing is a big concern for me too
if all i'd watch are tv shows like netflix its one thing, but yt has such broad content i'd rather not be advertised/tracked about stuff i just clicked once and never again...
While I strongly doubt this fully disables tracking, you can at least disable your watch history on youtube which will have the effect of the recommendation algorithm not adjusting to your preferences.
You can change it from Google account > Data & Privacy > History Settings > youtube History
If you have youtube premium + a general purpose ad blocker + disable watch history its really hard to tell if you are being tracked.
If you do decide to disable watch history, be prepared for just how terrible the median youtube interest is. All recommendations become beyond worthless.
if all i'd watch are tv shows like netflix its one thing, but yt has such broad content i'd rather not be advertised/tracked about stuff i just clicked once and never again...