In an attempt to put the “you” back into YouTube, the company on Wednesday announced that it will be implementing several new features to help users control what they see on the platform.
“One thing we’ve consistently heard from you is that you want more control over what videos appear on your homepage and in Up Next suggestions,” YouTube said in a blog post.
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Users will now be able to browse through related content on the homepage, making personalised suggestions more easily available.
“This new feature can be found on the homepage when you scroll up, and on Up Next when browsing,” the company explained.
The homepage suggestions will first roll out to Android users, with iOS and desktop to follow.
YouTube is also giving users a new option to remove suggested videos that appear in places like Up Next.
“Just tap the three-dot menu next to a video on the homepage or Up Next, then ‘Don’t recommend channel’. After that, you should no longer see videos from that channel suggested to you on YouTube,” the company said.
The new tool will be available on iOS and Android.
The final feature comes in the form of an explanation. YouTube will now tell you why you’re seeing certain suggestions in a similar fashion to Facebook’s system employed on its news feed.
“Our goal is to explain why these videos surface on your homepage in order to help you find videos from new channels you might like,” the company noted.
This feature will be available on iOS, before arriving on Android and desktop.
According to YouTube, these new features are set to roll out in the next few days.
Feature image: screenshot, YouTube
