In an effort to shine more of a spotlight on its active creators, YouTube is adding a new feature that highlights when a creator goes live by adding a ring around their profile picture.
Announced on Twitter by YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, creator profile pictures will add a “ring” that acts as an indicator for when that channel is actively streaming content live. The ring only shows up on the mobile apps right now, but tapping on the profile picture will immediately send viewers into that ongoing live stream.
As The Verge points out, this isn’t exactly a new idea. Instagram has long displayed a “live” shortcut in the Stories section for anyone you follow who is livestreaming. TikTok’s current implementation is even closer to YouTube’s, with a pulsating ring around the profile picture when the account is livestreaming.
With YouTube’s implementation, the feature appears on the Home tab as well as in other locations, meaning that simply scrolling around for videos or even viewing an old video will show if that creator is actively livestreaming.
It’s a UI decision that certainly makes a lot of sense, and for creators with a large backlog of videos, it’ll almost surely boost viewers for ongoing livestreams. The feature is rolling out right now.
More on YouTube:
- YouTube testing of PiP for iOS app continues as desktop site trials more browsable comments list
- YouTube Music gets tablet UI optimizations and ‘many more’ are planned
- Google Duo debuts Live Sharing, Messages getting inline YouTube previews on Galaxy S22
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