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 Yesterday
The Roku and Google feud erupted this week as the YouTube app is now set to leave the platform in December, but new information sheds more light on the situation. According to a leaked email, Google did in fact ask Roku for special search results around the YouTube app, an allegation that Google had previously called “baseless.”
YouTube Stories October 21
The feud between Google and Roku rages on and it’s now escalating quite a bit. Following the removal of the YouTube TV app earlier this year, Roku and Google are once again failing to reach a deal, and the YouTube app will be removed as a result.
YouTube Stories October 7
Earlier this week, Google announced a series of features across several products aimed at letting you make more sustainable choices. The company is now following that by prohibiting ads or monetization of content that denies climate change.
With YouTube Rewind changing in recent years, including the lack of one in 2020, the Google video site said today that it’s ending the annual recap video, though a “different and updated kind of experience” might take its place.
YouTube Stories October 6
Google’s podcasting efforts today are aligned with Search, but a new report suggests that the existing app might be getting some internal competition from YouTube.
YouTube Stories October 3
YouTube has a nifty mini-player on the web that’s now being used to let you quickly “Continue watching” videos from your phone and other devices.
YouTube Stories September 30
Following iOS PiP and desktop download, YouTube is now testing the ability to “get suggestions for topics related to videos you’re watching” on Android that are powered by Google Assistant.
YouTube Stories September 29
Misinformation can have harmful effects on everyone, especially when the world is fighting off a pandemic. YouTube has been working to stop the spread of misinformation around COVID-19 and its vaccines, but today the platform has announced a sweeping ban on all anti-vaccine content that spreads misinformation.
YouTube Stories September 22
Discord users may soon get access to a new feature that officially brings YouTube integration to the chat platform and allows users to watch videos together.
On Android and iOS, YouTube Premium lets you store content for offline viewing. The ability to download YouTube videos is now coming to the desktop web as part of an experiment that paying subscribers can enable today.
YouTube Stories September 15
YouTube for Android and iOS is now testing instant comment translations for comments, provided you have a Premium subscription plan.
YouTube Stories September 13
YouTube nukes popular ‘Groovy,’ ‘Rythm’ Discord music bots for breaking platform’s ToS [U]
YouTube is first and foremost a place to share videos, but the platform has long been a great place to stream music essentially for free. Sometimes, that functionality gets abused, and YouTube has to step in, which is what happened recently with the popular Discord service “Groovy Bot” and, after that, “Rythm.”
YouTube Stories September 10
YouTube is set to slash the subscriber count requirement needed to access and make Community posts on creators’ channels to just 500 from October 12.
YouTube Stories September 7
A new report suggests that TikTok has surpassed YouTube average watch time in the US and UK on Android versions of both apps respectively.
YouTube Stories September 1
YouTube Gaming signs exclusive streaming deals w/ Twitch stars TimTheTatMan and DrLupo
Twitch is the go-to place for streamers, but YouTube isn’t taking its hat out of the ring. Just this week, YouTube Gaming has poached TimTheTatMan and DrLupo, two huge Twitch stars, in exclusive deals.
YouTube Stories August 26
Introduced last year to the Android and iOS apps, YouTube’s updated outline-style icons are now available in the main player view on the Android TV version of the streaming platform.
YouTube Stories August 24
Back in June, Google started rolling out Picture-in-Picture support in YouTube for iPhone. It’s not widely available yet, but YouTube Premium subscribers can experimentally enable PiP in the mobile app today.
Google takes account security fairly seriously and, over the past few years, has been pushing 2-step authentication/verification for users, sometimes requiring it for specific account actions. This week, Google has announced that YouTube creators will be required to use 2-step verification to access key functions starting later this year.
YouTube Stories August 23
The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) launched over 14 years ago to allow video monetization, and the Google company is now celebrating 2 million creators.
YouTube Stories August 20
After being introduced on the Android and iOS apps last year, YouTube’s new outline-style icons are now available on the web homepage.
YouTube Stories August 16
YouTube offers Discord Nitro free to some Premium subscribers, and vice versa too
YouTube Premium delivers an ad-free experience, background play, and several other features, but one of its more underrated perks might be the freebies that subscribers are sometimes offered. Right now, some YouTube Premium subscribers are getting an offer for a free extended trial of Discord Nitro.
YouTube Stories August 10
As of last month, YouTube Shorts is available in over 100 countries as Google’s TikTok and short-form viral video competitor. The company now wants to ramp up Shorts awareness with a global ad campaign “introducing the shorter side of YouTube.”
Our favorite video streaming service recently gained a neat new ability to scrub to a particular video point with a new drag gesture, but YouTube for Android now lets you skip video chapters with a two-finger double-tap.
YouTube Stories August 6
Skipping to the most interesting portion of your favorite YouTube content could end up being a lot easier in the future with the Android version of the video-sharing app gaining a new drag and hold gesture for quickly scrubbing through a video.
YouTube Stories August 2
Many complaints about the cost of a YouTube Premium subscription could soon be addressed with a new “YouTube Premium Lite” subscription tier that will provide ad-free video viewing at a new lower price.
YouTube Stories July 23
When Stadia was first announced, Google (and many others) talked about the potential crossover with its video service. One of those YouTube integrations is now opening up more widely with the ability to sign-up for a beta of Stadia Crowd Play.
YouTube Stories July 21
For most, the YouTube “Home” feed/page is very good at recommending videos that you’d enjoy watching. It can, however, get repetitive and YouTube wants to tackle that with “New to you.”
Since March of this year, we’ve been tracking a brand new Cast experience for YouTube on regular, non-Google TV-powered Chromecast dongles. It looks like the YouTube app on Android TV with better remote control options and is now rolling out to more users.
YouTube is adding another way to tip your favorite creators and channels with a feature called “Super Thanks.”
YouTube Stories July 19
At the start of this year, Google said it was partnering with institutions to use YouTube’s scale to widely surface trusted health videos. This is now manifesting as an “accredited hospitals” label on authoritative YouTube videos.
YouTube Stories July 15
YouTube looks to be taking game-streaming platform Twitch head-on with the addition of subscriber-only chat, viewer polls for all channels, while the Clips feature is arriving for channels with over 1,000 subscribers.
YouTube Stories July 13
Short-form videos have exploded in popularity lately, thanks to the rise of TikTok, and many other platforms are trying to get in on the trend. After testing the feature in select countries, Google is now launching YouTube Shorts globally.
YouTube Stories July 7
YouTube, which calls itself a “Google company,” has its own branding and design direction that’s independent from the broader organization. YouTube Studio is now getting a new icon that shares some similarity to YouTube Music.
YouTube Stories July 1
The YouTube video layout on the web has remained relatively the same in recent years, but Google is now testing a web redesign of the description section that is more compact and puts greater emphasis on comments.
YouTube Stories June 30
YouTube for Android gains ability to directly share video chapters
Sharing content on the YouTube app for Android is set to improve with the abilty to direct share video chapters.
YouTube Stories June 29
After announcing a handful of new education features just last week, Google is updating the privacy and security defaults for students using Chrome, as well as accounts and other apps, managed by schools.
YouTube Stories June 28
YouTube has partnered with Hollywood Park in a multiyear agreement that will see a purpose-built 6,000 seat venue named YouTube Theater.
YouTube Stories June 23
Breaking the YouTube terms of service or violating any of the site’s policies can be a frustrating experience. However, a new test will provide time stamps in YouTube policy violation emails where any violation is believed to exist.
Similar to a Google Drive change for file-sharing links, YouTube is making it so that Unlisted videos uploaded before 2017 will be made Private next month.
YouTube Stories June 21
The Google-created International Small Business Week is now in its second year, and various teams from across the company are launching new features to celebrate. This includes a Pixel-specific Google Pay promo when shopping at small businesses, faster YouTube ad campaign creation, and three free months of Pointy from Google.
YouTube Stories June 18
With iOS 14 last year, Apple introduced Picture-in-Picture to let you watch video in a floating window while using other tasks. The YouTube app is finally adding support for PiP on iPhone and iPad.
YouTube Stories June 10
Google’s efforts with Android TV OS seem to finally be in gear with new hardware, Google TV, and more. As the platform expands, the YouTube app for Android TV has just passed 100 million installs.
YouTube Stories June 7
YouTube for Android TV adds playback speed controls in latest update
YouTube for TVs generally lags behind a bit when it comes to new features, but progress is always being made. In the latest quiet update, Google appears to have widely rolled out support for playback speed controls on YouTube for Android TV.
YouTube Stories June 4
YouTube tests video appeals for creators who have had ads banned, Partner Program rejected [U]
In an effort to make it easy for creators to tell their side of the story, YouTube is making it possible for a video to be submitted with an appeal on ad bans, at least for some creators.
YouTube Stories June 2
Last month, YouTube TV became available in the main YouTube app as a workaround for the Roku dispute. That integrated YouTube TV experience is now coming to newer Vizio SmartCast televisions.
In an update today, YouTube revealed that it paid $4 billion to the music industry over the last 12 months, while Premium and Music Premium subscriptions saw notable growth at the start of this year.
YouTube Stories May 28
YouTube on Android and iOS is now more widely rolling out the expanded video description UI that includes more prominent Likes and View counters alongside accurate upload date information within video overflow menus.
YouTube Stories May 24
The experience of Casting YouTube to a Chromecast-connected TV has remained mostly unchanged for the past several years. Google now looks to be making a pseudo-YouTube app for Chromecast that takes after the Android TV version.
