What are the latest updates on YouTube and how do they affect you?

YouTube is the biggest video streaming platform on the internet, with over 2.7 billion active users in 2025. To keep the competition tight and give its viewers an updated user experience, YouTube has officially launched several new design updates and features. While there are a lot of features that the platform has introduced for the viewers, it has also brought many new features for the creators, considering their growth and increase in numbers. The creators are the ones who help to generate more views and revenue for the platform, and the platform is now returning it.

Evidently, both the viewers and the creators can enjoy new features on this platform, which is going to offer them a more engaging experience. Let’s check out these game-changing updates that empower the users on the platform.

Latest Features for the Viewers 

YouTube loves its viewers, and it is consistently working on new features that can offer them an immersive experience. The viewers help to generate views, and based on their watch hours and view count, creators can make money out of it, as well as the platform itself. YouTube has claimed to increase its ad revenue by 39.7 million this year, which is a 1.6% increase from last year. Currently, YouTube is offering more updates that can keep audiences engaged on the platform for a longer time. Some of the features are,

    • Audio control:

The platform is offering better audio control for its users on mobile devices. Its newest "stable volume" feature will be automatically turned on for users to reduce the shaking differences in volume, which will create a better audio and visual experience for the viewers.

    • Playback speed:

Viewers have previously displayed their love for adjusting playback speed, so the video streaming platform is here with its newest update regarding that. If you are among those users who love to watch videos in double time, with this feature, it will now become easier. While watching a video, whether in full screen or portrait mode, the user can press down anywhere on the screen and hold down, which will bump the playback speed to 2x. Once the viewer has reached the part they want to watch, they can just let go and watch the rest at normal speed.

Also Read: Top 8 Tech-influenced Music Trends of 2023

Lock screen:

While watching YouTube videos, especially on mobile phones, it is extremely common for an accidental tap to mess up the video. This accidental interruption can cause trouble in the pleasant viewing experience for the user, and with this new feature, YouTube has planned to eliminate it. The service is introducing a new lock screen feature that will allow users to lock their mobile screen and avoid these accidental and unwanted interruptions.

   • Discovering everything in one place:

To make the user experience even better, YouTube has merged both the Library tab and account page into one place. This is now called a You tab, where users can find everything in one place. Starting with previously watched videos, watch later, playlists, purchases, and downloads, along with the channel information and other account-related information, in one place. Your tab can now be found in the same place where the Library tab used to be, for web, tablet, and mobile users.

    • Thumbnails:

Now YouTube is making finding the best moments on YouTube videos even easier with its new thumbnail design. The video streaming platform is introducing bigger preview thumbnails for users to seek what they are looking for. The platform is also making going back easier, if the video or the part is not what the user wants, they can just move their finger to where they started and move it when a vibration is felt. YouTube will take the user back to exactly where the user left off.

    • Searching by song or voice:

How many times has it happened that a tune got stuck in your mind that you can't just get off and don't know the name of? Well, this search is about to be easier with YouTube's newest update, where users will be able to search for a song by singing, playing, or just humming. Using AI to match the original song's composition, this feature will be out in the next few weeks and will be available for Android users for now.

    • YouTube Shorts

YouTube has introduced its short-form content, known as shorts, where viewers can enjoy engaging video content which are not more than 60 seconds in length. Such short-form content is highly attractive for the modern and younger audiences who have a short attention span and are more likely to enjoy content that offers bite-sized and quickly digestible information. More than 70 billion shorts are watched daily, and there are more than 2 billion monthly short viewers.

    • Changes for Teen Safety

Teen protection is one of the greatest concerns for YouTube as the platform is used by many teenage users who are younger than 18 years. In order to make the platform safer for them, YouTube is creating stricter content moderation for content like dangerous stunts, “get rich quick” tips, and, of course, the ill activities in the name of a prank. There will be hourly break prompts to help teenagers grow a healthy screen habit. Parents can now have total control over viewing history.

Latest Features for the Creators

It is not just the audience but also the creators who help to generate more money for YouTube. Currently, there is a huge number of creators on the platform, and the number is constantly rising with more content and emerging channels. In order to help them grow more, the platform has brought many new features that can help to empower the creators with more credibility, popularity, and revenue generation.

    • Smarter Auto Ad Breaks 

YouTube is currently placing automated ad breaks at natural pauses to keep users engaged when there is a scene change or silence. This advanced system can help to blend ads into video content more smoothly, which appears natural. It helped the platform witness a +5% bump in ad revenue, which resulted in big numbers. Creators can easily select ads to add manually. If you have already selected the position for the ads, YouTube will not remove them, but will add more if required.

    • There is a YouTube Podcast Now

Previously, podcasting was limited only to Spotify, as most users would enjoy the audio experience it. But now, users are also enjoying the video content and the interactions in podcasts visually, which is improving the popularity of podcasts on YouTube. It recently shared that more than 1 billion people are watching podcasts on YouTube around 400 million hours monthly is being invested in it. The platform is improving the monetization options for the podcasters on the platform.

    • Latest ‘Hype’ Feature

YouTube has introduced a ‘Hype’ feature that can help users endorse video content and offer visibility for the creators. The advantages of this service are slowly rolling out in various regions around the world. Turkey is currently being the ‘Hype’ points testing pad, and this feature will offer a potential monetization angle for all kinds of creators, regardless of their industry. Brazil has already received the benefits of the Hype feature through its Studio Mobile App.

    • No More Gambling on YouTube

You can find influencers on YouTube from various fields, and some of them can be experts in gambling. With its last update, YouTube has taken some strict measures against the gambling-related content, where no more links to gambling sites will be provided on the platform. Any online casino content would be strictly restricted for 18+ users only, and any kind of content that assures of winning with a guarantee will be removed for being fraudulent. So, creators in this category are at risk of monetization.

    • Testing of Manual Review 

YouTube is now testing manual review, and that is why fewer yellow icons are appearing. The platform is currently looking for a new review flow for monetization, where the process can take up to 24 hours, but will help to remove all kinds of monetization errors. It offers a better chance of getting a green icon from the beginning, and fewer delays will occur in this case. YouTube’s algorithm is getting smarter with the new model, and it will not flag content unnecessarily if it aligns with the guidelines.

    • Stream Breaks and YouTube TV

Stream breaks are now official, and streamers can easily run ads during the breaks. This offers a greater chance of revenue generation while not leaving your audience with an empty chair. You can now also offer an intermission screen if required. YouTube is currently available on TV, and it seems like users are quite enjoying the big screen experience. They can watch longer videos like TV shows, it also offers a chance to enjoy the series-based formats. Therefore, long-form video creators can also find benefits from it.

    • AI Tools in YouTube & Battling with Deep Fake

YouTube has been utilizing AI is various aspects whether it is more improving algorithm or to create transcription for audio in videos. Currently, there are many AI features on the platform Dream Screen is one of them which is offered by DeepMind V2. It helps to generate 6 second AI clips, video backgrounds and you can combine the scene together to form a video.

The advancement of AI can also be alarming for their misusage. A lot of creators are using Deep Fake, an AI program than help to fake celebrity appearance and voice as well. It is being a major part of AI-generated identity abuse and can be considered as criminal offense of identity theft. YouTube’s deepfake detection systems are improved now and it can easily block the channels that are using such fake AI technology.

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that YouTube is making some moves to empower its creators as well as viewers who help to run the platform with profit in revenue generation. The platform might bring more features in the coming days after the aforementioned features roll out to the public. Stay tuned to know more!