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YouTube tests hiding the comments behind a button on Android

Anyone who’s used YouTube for a long period of time knows that the platform’s comments section can be pretty nasty. Now, it seems YouTube wants to hide comments by default, hiding the section behind a button on its mobile application.

This change, first spotted by XDA-Developers, doesn’t remove the comments from the YouTube app. Rather, it simply moves them from sitting beneath the video information and recommended videos to behind a button that the user has to press. This change keeps users from accidentally scrolling into the comments.

While the new button hides the comments by default on YouTube, it actually seems like it would make them a bit quicker to access, and it might even help with loading as well. Notably, when the section is open, dragging down from the top doesn’t close the comments section, but instead refreshes it.

The new comments button resides beneath a YouTube video alongside the like/dislike, share, and download buttons. However, it does force the “Save to Playlist” button off of the main screen. To do that, people using the app will need to expand the video description.

Right now, the new button seems to be rolling out in a very limited, server-side change. If you’ve got it on your device, let us know in the comments.

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