YouTube

YouTube has faced a lot of community backlash in recent months regarding experiments it runs without proper communication. Now, after comments from CEO Susan Wojcicki, we’re getting early insight on an experiment running now for some iOS users.

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The transition from music streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and even Google Play Music to YouTube Music might seem confusing and daunting, but it’s actually pretty straightforward once you understand just how the system works.

We just spent a month with YouTube Music — comparing it directly with rivals Spotify and Pandora — and here are the five things we did to get the most out of Google’s latest streaming offering. For the love of lyric videos, make sure you do these things once you’ve signed up.

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Last month, we opined how YouTube could save a lot of creator frustration by just being more transparent, especially in regards to A/B testing of new features. CEO Susan Wojcicki acknowledged that today in a post that also provides a “mid-year update” on what the video site is working on.

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YouTube Music, the latest in Google’s long history of attempts at breaking into the music streaming market, launched last month in 17 countries. However, it may be too late for Google’s latest attempt at music streaming, as the competition is fierce between veteran services like Spotify and Pandora, newcomers like Deezer and Tidal, and of course Apple Music from Google’s biggest competitor. Since launch, we’ve been using YouTube Music extensively to see how it truly fares against some of these rivals.

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After rolling out an Incognito mode and full-width thumbnails to Android earlier this month, YouTube is now displaying hashtags on videos. Aimed at improving search for users, it is also available on the web.

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There is a tendency for YouTube channels of less repute to steal a video and then re-upload it as their own. Google is now addressing this issue with a new Copyright Match tool designed to find re-uploads of content by other users.

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Earlier this year, both YouTube and YouTube Music began hinting at an “Incognito mode” — similar to Google Chrome’s — that disables your watch and search history. The former began A/B testing the feature in May and it’s now widely rolling out this evening.

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Last year, Google Search had to address “fake news” appearing in “Featured Snippets” on the web and being offered as answers via Assistant and Google Home. The company today is announcing a handful of features to combat the same issues on YouTube.

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Google is actively developing a YouTube app for its fledgling Fuchsia operating system, according to evidence we found in its source code. On a proposed change related to a Tic-Tac-Toe demo game being created for Fuchsia, Googler Larry Landry posted a link that appears to be for code from a private, in-development “YouTube Player”.

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YouTube seems to always be in hot water with creators who use the platform. Today, plenty of creators are outraged over a change that replaces custom thumbnails with auto-generated ones. Whenever you stand on that, I don’t think nearly as many people would have a problem with it if YouTube had just said something beforehand.

Oh wait… They did.

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YouTube is the biggest video platform in the world, and with so many eyeballs and so many creators, it can be a bit difficult to make yourself known. One way YouTube makes it easier to grab attention is with custom video thumbnails. Now, the platform is testing auto-generated thumbnails with some users, though.

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Picture-in-picture is one of the most useful features to come out of Android Oreo, and it really comes in handy for streaming movies and videos on your phone. However, with YouTube, there have been some strings attached to the functionality. For a long time, a YouTube Red (now Premium) subscription was required. Now, though, it seems that’s no longer the case.

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As VidCon 2018 continues, YouTube this evening has announced a slew of new features that it says will help creators “earn more money and build stronger communities.” YouTube detailed the new features in a blog post…

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YouTube is one of the biggest sites in the world, so when it goes down, it throws everyone for a loop. This afternoon, many users are reporting portions of YouTube being down on the web and mobile devices.

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After soft launching in five existing Red countries this May, YouTube is beginning an international expansion of its newly revamped Music and Premium services. Now available in 17 countries, this includes Canada, Russia, France, and several other European nations, while it’s now widely accessible for users in current markets.

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