Skip to main content

YouTube brings pinch to zoom and video navigation changes to everyone

YouTube is updating its user interface with a slew of changes, and chief among them are the pinch-to-zoom feature and “precise” video navigation.

On Monday, YouTube announced quite a few updates to its viewing experience on mobile and web. Notably, the video-sharing platform said that it was finally “launching pinch to zoom and precise seeking to all users starting today.”

Recommended Videos

The pinch-to-zoom feature is expected to allow users to zoom in and out of videos on both Android and iOS. Interestingly, users won’t have to keep their fingers on the screen to continue watching a video while zoomed in: you can just release your fingers and the video should remain zoomed in. (YouTube included the following video in its blog post. which appeared to show the zooming-in feature in action.)

YouTube also began rolling out updates to its video navigation, namely a feature it calls “precise seeking.” With precise seeking, the idea seems to be that if users are trying to find and watch a particular moment in a YouTube video, they should have an easier time doing so with this feature as it would allow them to view “a row of thumbnails in the video player” to better see and navigate to the moment they’re trying to replay or view.  Precise seeking is expected to be available on desktop and mobile. (YouTube’s announcement also included the video below, which shows the precise seeking feature being used.)

While precise seeking and the pinch-to-zoom feature were launched today, YouTube’s announcement did say that the user interface changes it announced would be “gradually” rolling out to everyone over the next few weeks.

YouTube also announced a number of cosmetic changes to its interface, including changes such as a new ambient mode (in which the “app background color adapts to match the video”) and a darker dark theme. Also, links in video descriptions will be buttons and the Subscribe button is also getting a new look.

Anita George
Anita George has been writing for Digital Trends' Computing section since 2018. So for almost six years, Anita has written…
These are the 10 most-viewed YouTube videos of all time
The red and white YouTube logo on a phone screen. The phone is on a white background.

Being popular is about the only thing the current most-viewed YouTube videos have in common with their top-performing predecessors. Even though YouTube videos like Chocolate Rain went viral during the first few years of YouTube's content, they probably wouldn't be among the kinds of videos that go viral on the platform now.

In fact, children's programming and music videos are now among the most-viewed content on YouTube. Music videos, in particular, have enjoyed great success on the streaming site and, until recently, had been the majority of the most-viewed videos in YouTube's history. Music videos still account for 40% of the top 10 most-viewed videos, however. The other 60% is content for young children. If these view counts are anything to go by, the video-sharing site could be considered a leading platform for music videos and kid-friendly content, rather than just the memeworthy viral videos the site was known for in its early days.
What is the most-viewed YouTube video of all time?
Baby Shark Dance is the most-viewed video ever on YouTube. The children's song overtook the all-Spanish version of Despacito in November 2020.
What are the top 10 most-viewed YouTube videos?

Read more
YouTube relaxes rules around swearing and demonetization
YouTube

Potty-mouthed YouTubers will be delighted to learn that the streaming site has relaxed its rules around swearing and demonetization.

The change comes after a more restrictive policy introduced in November caused an uproar among YouTube creators, especially the ones who like to use colorful language in their videos. The harsher rules introduced then resulted in profanity-laced content being demonetized, a situation that had serious consequences for those trying to make a living out of creating YouTube content.

Read more
Celebrate our 1,000,000 YouTube subscriber milestone with us and win!
YouTube Subscriber Giveaway

Digital Trends 1,000,000 YouTube Subscriber Giveaway!

We did it! On November 27, 2022, the Digital Trends YouTube channel reached a major milestone: 1 million subscribers! We’ve been counting down for weeks, and now that the moment has finally arrived, we’re ready to celebrate with those who helped us get here (you!) by giving away more than $4,500 in prizes!

Read more