Every minute, content creators on YouTube upload around 100 hours of videos on the platform. And not just that. Reports say that YouTube grabs the better attention of the viewers than primetime television. From that alone, we can see how successful YouTube is at being the world’s biggest video-streaming platform.
“With great powers comes great responsibilities,” the adage goes. Parallel to that, social media giants like YouTube face a heavy task. They must always make sure that their users are satisfied with their services.
Now, since there is nothing constant in this world, the tastes and behaviors of users change over time. And so are their needs. What is enough for them today could not be the same tomorrow.
So, to ensure that its users will not find a reason to leave the platform, YouTube develops and launches new features. These tools provide improvements to the users’ experience on the platform.
This year, YouTube is rolling out 4 new features that will for sure please its users.
Clipping Videos
YouTube introduces a new feature that allows viewers to select a short video segment and convert it into a clip. The clip could be 5 seconds or 60 seconds long.
What are these for? Suppose you have a favorite part of a video you want to share with others. Before YouTube added this feature, you would either take a screenshot of that part and send it to your friends or just straight up send them a link to the video. You can also record that segment using a third-party tool to provide more context, though that could land you in trouble.
However, with this feature, YouTube and the content creators are allowing you to do so. Furthermore, it would remove the need to install or use a third-party recording program. And on top of that, YouTube’s native clipping tool will allow you to send the clip to your friends on social media immediately. Also, you can embed these clips on your website or attach them to emails. The whole process is straightforward and streamlined.
Now, if you are a content creator, you would love this feature more. All metrics from the viewer clips will be attributed to the original video, which will help it to rank higher on search or generate more money.
Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, YouTube is still testing this feature. Only a small number of people – namely gaming creators with 1000 subscribers or more- have access to it. However, YouTube announced that it plans to make it available to all creators in the future.
Playing Videos On Loop for More Views
Sometimes, all you want to do is listen to your favorite song or one you just found over and over again. You can do this if you are using a desktop. All you have to do is right-click on the video and then select “Loop.” On mobile, however, this is not available. You have to tap the replay button each time the video finishes, which is related to the popular option to buy YouTube views.
People can now kiss that annoying thing goodbye. YouTube is bringing videos on loop to the mobile app. Users can find the toggle by tapping the kebab menu – the three dots- at the upper right corner of the player.
Safer YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids has faced controversies regarding whether it does what it promises or not. The platform claims that it protects children by limiting their access to only kid-friendly content. On the other hand, lawmakers are saying it uses children as money-making machines through targeted ads. YouTube has denied the accusation.
To save itself from future controversies – more importantly, to accomplish its mission, Google is introducing increased protection to minors on its platform. Some of the changes coming to YouTube Kids are required by the law, while some Google added on its own.
To get an idea of what’s coming, here are two confirmed features. The default privacy setting for minors’ uploads will be set to the most private. This ensures that only the users and people they directly connect with will be able to find their videos.
Another change in the settings YouTube will implement is turning on the “Take a break” and Bedtime Reminders by default. On top of that, it will also turn off autoplay. This is to make sure minors would not spend an excessive amount of hours on YouTube.