YouTube
YouTube is a major video platform owned by Google — and it has grown to be one of the most famous social media destinations on the web.
YouTube Overview Updated March 18, 2021
YouTube Stories June 30
YouTube is finally doing something about comment spam that impersonates creators
YouTube is full of great creators, but some of the most popular names on the platform often see their comments section full of comment spam where accounts are impersonating the creator to scam viewers. Now, YouTube is finally doing something about it.
YouTube Stories June 29
YouTube testing more precise video progress bar scrubbing w/ thumbnail aids
As part of the regular platform experiments for those with the Premium tier, YouTube is testing a feature that allows for more precise video progress bar scrubbing by utilizing thumbnail previews.
YouTube Stories June 28
Like YouTube TV earlier this year, YouTube Premium has launched a referral program where existing subscribers get a shareable code that can ultimately net them a year of free service.
YouTube Stories June 15
YouTube is a great way to share videos, build an audience, and share your creativity. But the platform has always made it difficult to fix a video with problems in it. Now, YouTube is finally adding a way for creators to correct a video without the need to re-upload the entire thing.
YouTube Stories June 7
YouTube is one of the biggest places to find entertainment and information online, but like everything else, it doesn’t come free. Ads are the backbone of YouTube, but many have noted over the years that the platform’s advertising has become more and more unsavory. Now, YouTube ads have picked up a vocal critic in Elon Musk, who apparently doesn’t bother to pay to avoid them entirely.
YouTube Stories June 1
As teased by Sundar Pichai in April, the YouTube app on your phone will soon serve as a connected, second-screen experience for videos playing on your TV.
YouTube Stories May 24
How to disable video autoplay in Google Discover on Android
Google Discover is a wonderful tool and something I end up using every single day. Unfortunately, even great tools have features you may want to disable for various reasons. One of those features is video preview autoplay. Here’s how to disable Google Discover’s YouTube video autoplay function.
YouTube Stories May 23
Over a month ago, YouTube confirmed that timed emoji reactions for videos were set to be tested over the coming months. Some weeks after that early teaser, it seems that people are starting to see the option with specific video content.
YouTube Stories May 18
YouTube is announcing a handful of updates today to its video player from a “Most replayed” graph to testing ways to quickly jump to sections you’d be more interested in.
YouTube Stories May 13
Since 2019, the main YouTube app has offered to open song videos in YouTube Music, but this integration is now getting much more prominent.
YouTube Stories May 11
Google wants to give you more control over the advertising that appears in Search, the Discover feed, and YouTube with its upcoming “My Ad Center.”
YouTube tests gifting memberships as its latest move to compete with Twitch
While Amazon-owned Twitch has been struggling a bit amid recent controversial changes to its platform, YouTube is capitalizing on the shake-up. This week, YouTube announced that it is testing Membership Gifting, a feature similar to what Twitch offers.
YouTube Stories May 3
YouTube Go was first announced in 2016 as a lightweight Android app that’s optimized for lower-end hardware and constrained cellular connectivity. YouTube announced today that it was shutting down the Go app “beginning in August.”
YouTube Stories April 28
Back in December of 2020, YouTube started letting users restrict alcohol and gambling advertising. These ad limits are now being expanded to Google’s broader Display network and cover more sensitive categories.
YouTube Stories April 27
YouTube Shorts starts running ads as daily views pass 30 billion on the TikTok competitor
As TikTok has very clearly taken over the public’s interest, YouTube has been investing heavily in its own version of the short-form video app. YouTube Shorts is widely available at this point and driving billions of views, and now the ads are coming.
YouTube Stories April 26
Last year, YouTube a new feature named “Super Thanks” in beta form. It was a way for some creators to earn money directly from fans on YouTube. Now, the platform is expanding Super Thanks to creators in over 68 different countries.
YouTube Stories April 25
After widespread outrage at the removal of “Dislike” counts on YouTube wholesale, it appears that Google is attempting to spread some cheer with a brand new “Like” button animation on mobile.
YouTube Stories April 21
Google re-engineers how cookies work on its sites to add ‘Reject all’ button in Europe
Following regulatory fines this year, Google has announced new consent choice banners for cookies in Europe that most notably feature a “Reject all” button.
YouTube Stories April 20
At the end of last month, Google started requiring Android apps distributed via the Play Store to use its payment service rather than letting developers continue to collect billing details directly. To follow those latest guidelines, YouTube Premium and YouTube TV now use Google Play Billing.
YouTube Stories April 15
With the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returning after a two-year absence, YouTube will be there to livestream both weekends of the 2022 event.
Back in December, Google made official a YouTube app on the Cast-powered Chromecast that can be controlled by a remote on your phone, but a bug is causing desktop Chrome users to also see the new UI.
YouTube Stories April 14
Google and the Major League Baseball Association reached a deal last year to stream some MLB games via YouTube, and that contract has been renewed for the 2022 season. YouTube will stream 15 MLB games through May and June, and now in higher resolution.
As TikTok has dominated the internet, other platforms have been quick to cash in on the short-form video trend. Instagram did it with Reels, and YouTube has been doing it with Shorts. Now, YouTube Shorts are expanding yet again, this time on the web and tablets.
YouTube Stories April 12
YouTube was partially down this afternoon, mainly on smart TV apps [Updated]
On the afternoon of April 12, 2022, it appears that both YouTube and YouTube TV are seeing a partial outage that has taken down some portions of each service.
Update: YouTube has fixed this outage.
YouTube Stories April 11
This weekend, YouTube removed the long-running experiment that allowed iPhone and iPad users to keep watching videos in picture-in-picture mode. Now, YouTube has confirmed that its iOS app is in the process of rolling out picture-in-picture support to everyone on iOS 15 and up.
YouTube Stories April 9
YouTube ends experiment for quickly enabling PiP on iOS, still works for existing users
YouTube started officially rolling out Picture-in-Picture to the iOS app last June and it’s been a very slow process. Premium subscribers were given a workaround, but YouTube’s PiP test for iPhone and iPad has now ended.
YouTube Stories April 4
After adding the ability to share your current YouTube Music playlist or track, you’re now able to directly share YouTube videos to Snapchat for Android and iOS.
YouTube Stories March 30
Recent reports have made it clear that YouTube wants a slice of the massive demand for podcast content, and it seems plans are finally coming together. A new leaked presentation offers a ton of insight into YouTube’s plan for true podcast support.
YouTube Stories March 29
Google Play Protect marks discontinued YouTube Vanced Manager as ‘harmful,’ prompts uninstall
The feature-adding and ad-blocking YouTube Vanced app was discontinued earlier this month, but the app’s developers said it would continue to work until changes to YouTube’s API killed it off for good. Now, those with the app still installed are seeing Google Play Protect marking Vanced Manager as “harmful,” and prompting the app to be uninstalled.
YouTube Stories March 28
YouTube tests letting you leave emoji reactions at specific moments on videos
Viewer feedback on YouTube today consists of liking (or disliking) and leaving text comments on videos. YouTube is now experimenting with timed reactions that let you share emoji at an exact moment in a video.
YouTube Stories March 23
This week, Google announced another step towards the end of Play Movies & TV as it continues to push towards Google TV instead. It’s the right call, but with a headache attached for many customers.
Since 2018, YouTube has offered a collection of free-to-watch movies that are supported by advertising. That YouTube library in the US is now expanding to TV shows with almost 4,000 free episodes.
YouTube Stories March 17
Android users in Australia will need to use ID to prove their age to YouTube and Google Play
Google has announced that it will be adding a new step to verify a user’s age on some core Android products in Australia, with YouTube and Google Play requiring as much as a valid ID to confirm your age soon.
YouTube Stories March 16
The latest UI test for YouTube on mobile makes yet more adjustments to the autoplay “Playback in feed” feature to make this more immersive.
YouTube Stories March 13
YouTube Premium is how you’re officially supposed to watch videos without ads so that Creators continue to earn revenue from their work. An effort has long existed to get around paying for the ad-free subscription, but “YouTube Vanced” is now shutting down.
YouTube Stories March 9
The latest project from Area 120, Google’s house incubator, is called “Aloud,” and it lets YouTube creators “quickly and easily dub their videos into multiple languages.”
YouTube Stories March 5
YouTube’s interest in the podcasting space is quite explicit at this point, and the latest effort is offering grants to make video podcasts that are more native to the network.
YouTube Stories February 22
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.
YouTube Stories February 15
YouTube Stories February 1
YouTube tends to overhaul its website and mobile apps component-by-component. The latest example of this is a big redesign, especially in fullscreen mode, of the video player in YouTube for Android.
YouTube Stories January 26
In YouTube’s 2022 Priorities letter, CEO Susan Wojcicki cited podcasting (just before NFTs) as an additional source of revenue for Creators. Podcasts already exist on the site as videos, but this is the latest mention that strongly implies that YouTube is going to provide a more dedicated experience. What form could YouTube Podcasts take and does that sound like something you’d use?
YouTube Stories January 25
Short-form videos have taken the internet by storm over the past few years thanks to the rise of platforms such as TikTok. YouTube Shorts first made its debut in 2020, and in the time since, creators have collectively generated over 5 trillion views.
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has outlined the video streaming platforms “2022 Priorities” which, annoyingly, could include NFTs.
YouTube Stories January 18
In recent weeks, YouTube very quietly introduced an annual plan for YouTube Premium and Music Premium. It currently features a rather notable discount compared to paying every month, but that ends very soon.
YouTube Stories January 17
How to contact Google support and give product feedback
No Google app on Android or iOS is without bugs and issues. Fortunately, there’s a way you can contact support and leave feedback for Google app developers. Follow this guide to learn how.
YouTube Stories January 13
The latest YouTube “new” feature that users can test, though it’s not widely available, is “Smart downloads” for the Android app.
YouTube Stories January 10
‘Return YouTube Dislikes’ extension temporarily breaks following update, here’s how to restore it
To the dismay and anger of many, Google removed the dislike counter from YouTube in November. However, some ambitious developers took on the project of enabling users to bring back YouTube dislikes, but the “Return YouTube Dislikes” extension has been briefly disabled for many following a recent update that requires new permissions. Here’s what you need to know.
YouTube Stories January 6
YouTube on smart TVs is gaining a simple mobile sign-in feature to help improve the account linking process and, in turn, reduce the stress of adding your details to selected devices. The video streaming service also appears to be adding a “Repeat” video toggle for Android TV, games consoles, and other platforms.
