YouTube is making it easier to track how much time you spend watching videos
Google is making it easier to track how long you spend watching videos on YouTube. It has updated the YouTube app on Android and iOS to now feature a new Time Watched section, which tells you how long you've spent watching videos over the past week, and offers settings to tweak your watching habits.
YouTube expands unskippable ads to more creators
More ads, or at least ads you can't avoid, are coming to YouTube. The company has announced that it is now offering unskippable ads to all content creators who are currently eligible for video monetization. This will likely mean that you'll be seeing more unskippable adds soon.
Google gives YouTube Music a makeover with new features
Google is committed to a two-week patch cycle intended to bring improvements to YouTube Music. First among these changes is an improved UI, YouTube Music users will also be getting several new options when it comes to downloading, streaming, and storing their music.
YouTube videos are now even bigger on desktop — so why are users complaining?
Goodbye, black bars. A YouTube update eliminates the black bars on the desktop video pages. The change makes the video larger and removes the often irking black bars. The update isn't sitting well with everyone, however, with users taking to the forums asking for the old design back.
How to use YouTube’s Incognito Mode in the Android app
The YouTube Android app is finally getting Incognito Mode -- a feature that Google has been testing out for a few months, and that will help you browse YouTube in private whenever you want. Here's how to activate Incognito Mode in the YouTube Android app.
YouTube delights multitaskers by offering picture-in-picture to lots more users
YouTube has offered a picture-in-picture mode for some time, but you had to be a paid-up member of its Red service to use it. The good news is that it's now rolling out the feature to nonsubscribers. The bad news? It only works for U.S.-based users with Android 8.0 Oreo and above. And not for all videos.
YouTube boosts creators with channel subs, merchandise stores, and Premieres
YouTube is expanding existing features and introducing a new one in a bid to help creators earn more money through their work. Channel subscriptions for $5 a month, merchandise stores with customized goods, and "Premieres" that enable creators to market their latest videos are all part of the effort.
YouTube Music and YouTube Premium launch on mobile in 17 countries
Google has officially launched YouTube Music, the app that will eventually replace Google Play Music. The app offers streaming music alongside a wide selection of music videos, remixes, and covers. YouTube Premium also debuted, replacing YouTube Red in the paid subscription tier.
You won’t find the new pop stars in movies. You’ll find them on Twitch.
Game streaming on Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and other sites has become a worldwide phenomenon. You likely know that already – but you may be surprised by how many people tune in, and how much money popular streamers make. Top stars, like Ninja, rake in up to half a million dollars every month.
The beginning of the end? Teens are abandoning Facebook for YouTube
Pew Research Center found that teenagers are using YouTube at a greater rate than any other social media service, with services like Snapchat and Instagram also seeing dramatic growth. Facebook use among teens, meanwhile, fell 20 percent since 2015. Should the social network be worried?
John Bain, better known to gamers as TotalBiscuit, dies at 33
YouTuber and video game commentator John Bain, more famously known as TotalBiscuit, has passed away at the age of 33 after a battle bowel cancer. Bain was known for his outspoken support of indie games and consumer-friendly practices. He is survied by his wife and son.
A drone made out of pizza? This YouTuber shows you just how to dough it
How do you like your drones: Fixed-wing or multirotor? Civilian or military? Thin-crust or Chicago-style? That’s the question you’ll be asking yourself after a new video from a drone-mad YouTuber, who recently built a functioning drone out of pizza. But was he able to eat it afterward?
DT Daily: YouTube announces Premium subscription service
YouTube's ad-free subscription service, YouTube Red, is going away. In its place will be the new YouTube Premium with more exclusive original content and music, designed to compete with other streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify.
Revamped YouTube Music is Google’s latest effort to take on Spotify
With so many people hitting YouTube for their music fix, parent Google has always felt well placed to attract people to a subscription-based music service. But up to now the company has failed to nail it. Now it hopes that with the launch of a revamped YouTube Music service on Tuesday, it's a step closer to its goal.
YouTube will now tell you to ‘take a break’ from endless viewing
If your YouTube sessions often run from minutes into hours without you realizing, the app now has a way to set up an alert telling you to take a break. The opt-in feature lets you choose how long before you receive the alert, though it doesn't block access, so you'll still have to use all your willpower to stop.
Watch a Lego robot prepare a perfect egg and bacon breakfast
We love Lego. We love robots. And we sure love breakfast. So what could be better than a Lego-based robot ready and willing to cook you breakfast? Fortunately, that's exactly what a father and son YouTube duo have created with their awesome new Breakfast Machine. Check it out.
YouTube testing picture-in-picture for non-YouTube Red subscribers
Google is apparently trying out some previously YouTube Red-only features on free YouTube accounts that meet certain requirements. The picture-in-picture mode beloved by many can now be used on the Android YouTube app -- but you still won't be using it to listen to music videos without paying.
YouTube helps creatives tackle tough topics, from hate speech to extremism
YouTube Creators for Change has announced the 2018 list of creatives. The program will help YouTube creators create content that addresses topics like hate speech, extremism, and xenophobia. So who's getting YouTube funding, mentorship and support? Here's the full list of the creators in the program.
Wonder what the bottom of the ocean sounds like? Check out this livestream
Thanks to the likes of the Amazon Echo and Google Home, we’re used to the concept of always listening devices here in 2018. But an always listening device that’s located 3,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, 18 miles off the coast of California? Well, that’s a new one to us.
It’s so realistic, ‘Surviving Mars’ is turning rocket scientists into gamers
A number of scientist streamers have taken to narrating playthroughs of Surviving Mars on YouTube, bringing real science to the game’s particularly precise fiction. We spoke to some to find out more about the successes and failures of simulating space.
Social Feed: Challenge Facebook friends with a donation match
In this week's Social Feed, see how Facebook is expanding the platform's fundraising tool (while earning less money with lower fees). Pinterest also sees updates for the visually impaired on the web and apps, while YouTube turns 13 and Facebook begins vetting political advertisers in the U.S.
The new version of YouTube Kids lets parents pick videos for their children
YouTube is updating YouTube Kids. Soon, parents will be able to hand-pick specific videos, collections of channels, and more, for their kids to watch. On top of that, parents will also be able to limit the search bar to content that they approve, meaning kids won't stumble across something they shouldn't.
Google will reportedly kill Play Music when it launches YouTube Remix
Google is reported to be planning to launch a new streaming service called YouTube Remix later this year -- and when it does it will reportedly put an end to Google Play Music, its current most-used music streaming services. The existence of YouTube Remix has been rumored since the end of last year.
YouTube removed 8M videos in 3 months, and machines did most of the work
Anyone can upload anything to YouTube, but the company's computers are getting better at fishing out objectionable content. On Monday, April 23, YouTube revealed that it removed 8.3 million videos in the last three months of 2017, with its machine-based systems doing the majority of this work.
Social Feed: Pinterest glams up, Facebook tests ‘live’ prerecorded premieres
What are the social networks up to this week? Facebook is launching a slew of new tests, while facing scrutiny for housing discrimination on top of data practices. Pinterest now has prettier profiles for businesses (with more stats). And YouTube addresses creator concerns.
Here are 8 fun Twitch streamers you should start watching
With thousands of different users broadcasting their gameplay on Twitch, it can be tough to sift through the list and find the best content. We've picked out some great, relatively high-profile streamers we think are worth watching, including a few picks for younger viewers to check out.
How to stream on YouTube Gaming
Want to get into streaming your gameplay on the internet? Here is a quick and easy guide on how to stream on YouTube Gaming for beginners, taking you through the setup step by step, and putting you on the path toward becoming a gaming superstar.
Hackers stole digital coins while a YouTube broadcaster advised about ICOs
YouTube streamer Ian Balina was advising about initial coin offerings during a live-stream when hackers stole around $2 million in digital coins from his virtual wallet. He believes the hackers used an old college email address to break into his Gmail and Evernote accounts to access private keys.
Hackers place gun images in Vevo YouTube videos “just for fun”
Hackers managed to get into Vevo's YouTube account on Tuesday morning, causing some popular videos to temporarily leave the platform. Vevo has since corrected the breach after the videos were temporarily removed while the hacked information was corrected.
Child advocacy groups ask FTC to fine Google tens of billions of dollars
Child advocacy groups filed an FTC complaint today, claiming YouTube allows websites to collect personal about children under 13 without permission.
What is YouTube Red? What you get, how it works, and how much it costs
Curious about YouTube Red? We cover what you get with a subscription and how much YouTube Red costs, along with how YouTube Red works with Google Play Music to make a great music streaming service.
Genius teams up with YouTube to support Song Stories, a new discovery feature
This week, music database company Genius launched its own version of the bite-sized content format with a new feature called Song Stories.
YouTube plans to ‘frustrate’ music fans into paying for its ad-free service
A YouTube executive said it plans to "frustrate" users into paying for its forthcoming music streaming service by serving up more ads.
Social Feed: Regrams join Stories, YouTube bans guns, Pinterest expands shopping
In case you were too busy watching the Facebook privacy scandal, here's the social media news you might have missed, including a potential "regram" option inside Instagram Stories.