YouTube is making a few big updates to its Shorts video format, adding many features similar to those you’d find on TikTok. This includes a new ‘Clear Mode’ and a “heart” icon, replacing the thumbs-up system.
As noted by YouTube’s latest blog post, its new Clear Mode for Shorts introduces a cleaner viewing experience. By activating Clear Mode, YouTube Shorts removes all buttons and on-screen text, leaving only the video unobstructed. To mute the video, simply tap the screen. It’s a great quality-of-life improvement that ensures a more immersive viewing experience for YouTube Shorts.
Additionally, Shorts viewers can now adjust the video’s playback speed. Similar to how it works on TikTok, hold down the edge of the screen to play the video at 2x speed. Once you lift your finger, the video then resumes playback at its normal speed. By holding the screen and then swiping down, you can lock the 2x playback. “This has been a top-requested feature from our community, and we’re excited to finally get it into your hands,” the company says.
Alongside these major core updates, YouTube Shorts has now removed the thumbs-up and dislike buttons. Moving forward, Shorts now features a simple heart button you can use to show you enjoy the video. Rather than using a dislike button, YouTube Shorts now supports “Not interested” and “Don’t recommend this channel” options. These can both be found in the three-dot menu. By using these, the algorithm will hopefully show you less similar content. Although the dislike option has been removed, creators still have access to historical “dislike data” for Shorts in YouTube Studio, but the count stops updating by the end of the month.
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