YouTube has announced several updates about the legal concerns around kids' content, reveals the redesigned Homepage - its reviews and more.
Watch Later Sticker
YouTube updates include an introduction of Watch Later Sticker that will allow creators to post a sticker with an added option to link their own or another channel's videos.
The feature would allow a creator to redirect a viewer from a Story to their video. Creators will only be able to use this Sticker once a week to share your own videos but there is no limit to the number of video stickers you can use when linking to videos from other channels.
Mentions
Creators can now tag the fellows they collaborate with, in video titles and video descriptions. There is a minimum requirement of 1,000 subscribers to give or receive mentions.
Creators can tag someone, by placing @ before the channel's name. They will also be notified when their channel is mentioned across Community Posts, YouTube Stories, and Video titles and descriptions.
These notifications can also be viewed from the notification inbox, by selecting the filter 'Mentions of your channel'.
One of the users expressed frustration over YouTube only making these features accessible to creators with more than 1,000 subs and the suppression it creates for the smaller channels.
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Homepage
YouTube has brought in new features to the viewing experience. The new-look includes longer video titles, larger thumbnails, and higher resolution video previews. Content shelves have been removed, although rows such as music mixes, and more still subsist.
When browsing on Home, you’ll also see channel icons below each video.
The 'Add To Queue' option has been extended to the desktop. Along with, the option to select 'Don’t recommend channel' if you want to stop seeing suggestions from a particular channel.
Another feature being extended to the desktop is the feature that lets you select your favorite topics and customize your Home feed with related videos.
Overall, the Homepage updates have not been well received and users have been leaving bad reviews on social platforms.
Legal concerns surrounding kids' content
YouTube is making a few changes to how they collect and use data on kids' content, addressing concerns raised by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding their compliance under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
In the coming months, channels will be required to notify YouTube if their content is made for kids and they will also use machine-learning tools to identify videos that target younger audiences.
YouTube describes content made for kids:
- Children or children’s characters
- Popular children’s programming or animated characters
- Play-acting, or stories using children’s toys
- Child protagonists engaging in common natural play patterns such as play-acting and/or imaginative play
- Popular children’s songs, stories, or poems
Additionally, YouTube will stop serving personalized ads on content that is made for kids.
Viewers will have minimum engagement options on kids' content on YouTube.com. Some features will no longer be available on this type of content, like comments, likes/dislikes, and subscriptions on this content will not show up on public lists.
These changes will be made to YouTue's practices globally.