YouTube refreshes mobile app, makes it easier to find your favourite channels

YouTube has refreshed its mobile app, rolling out a series of features which it claims will make things easier for both users and creators.

According to an official blog post from the updates are a recognition by the video service that more than half of its views now come from mobile.

Available now on Android, mobile web, and in the near future on iOSm the update introduces three new tabs to the app: Home, Subscriptions, and Account.

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Here’s how YouTube describes what they do:

• Home: Easily explore and discover videos you’ll love with recommendations based on your watch history as well as playlists personalized just for you.
• Subscriptions: Find the latest videos from your favorite channels and creators on the new Subscriptions tab. And to help make sure you never miss an upload, you can now tap the bell icon on the channels you love to get a notification as soon as a new video is posted.
• Account: Check out your playlists, watch history, and the videos you’ve uploaded all in one spot.

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Perhaps the most interesting feature though is the one that allows you to watch full-screen videos in profile mode. And that’s not just because it’ll make footage shot by people who don’t know to turn their phones sideways easier to watch.

It may also pave the way for advertisers to start shooting in that format. If YouTube does decide to go that route, it’ll be following in the footsteps of Snapchat, which has had profile-format ads on its features list for a little while now.

On the creator front, YouTube has added a new set of tools which allow you to trim your footage, tint the image with filters, add music, and upload from inside the app.