YouTube Shorts Update: Clear Screen, Heart Icon, 2x Speed, and More

Heart is a new like, not interested is a new dislike, clearing the clutter, 2x playback speed, and more in this tall update to shorts. Hello Insiders, I'm Rene Ritchie, a long-time creator now working at YouTube, and here's what's up. Shorts continue to evolve thanks to viewer and creator feedback. They've gone from 1 to 3 minutes, first frame views, and gotten all types of new creative tools and interactivity. And now, if icons on the shorts player have

just always felt less like interface affordances and more like splotches on your windshield, then good news. The new clear screen mode lets you temporarily hide all icons and text on the player, creating a more intuitive and less distracting experience on shorts. YouTube is also replacing the thumbs up icon with a heart icon, so the shorts you enjoy feel a little less and a little more or I tried. And retiring the dislike button, but keeping the not

interested and don't recommend this channel buttons, since the functionality has come to overlap enough that it's caused confusion for viewers as to which does what and when, and ambiguity for our recommendation systems over when which is being used for what. YouTube understands how important these literally iconic icons are to creators, our community, and our culture. The goal here is to be respectful and thoughtful, while continuing to evolve and give viewers more accurate buttons under the three-dot

menu that provide greater clarity and control over your feed. And yes, YouTube knows and keeps hearing how much viewers value time. With 2x speed, you'll now be able to take in a lot more information a lot more quickly, or get to and rewatch favorite moments even faster. And for those times when you simply can't have those moments with the volume on, you'll be able to tap the screen to pause, and tap the new mute button to

silence. Did you just sil- Wait, are you tapping the mute button right now? I Whatever. Creators can now use YouTube's library of licensed and popular music as the tracks roll out with image and carousel posts in the shorts feed. YouTube is continuing to expand music options to help creators tell stories in even more dynamic ways. So, now, in addition to pairing a post of up to 10 images from your device's gallery in a single carousel and

picking from thousands of royalty-free tracks from the YouTube audio library or creating custom soundtracks using Dream Track in eligible markets, creators can now use YouTube's library of licensed and popular music as those tracks gradually roll out. Plus, include text overlays directly onto images so viewers can easily follow along as they swipe through the carousel. To help creators monitor our channel health and monetization at a glance, YouTube Studio is introducing two new updates. First, account status, a

new centralized home on the Studio mobile app for creators to check in on our channel's health. Previously, critical information like copyright strikes and monetization eligibility were spread across different sections and creators had to spelunk around Studio to find out what we were looking for. Now, everything is in one dynamic view. We can instantly see our standing, understand our eligibility, and take action if something needs our attention. Account status is rolling out to all creators on mobile

starting this week. Next, YouTube is streamlining the content tab so creators can see video status with more clarity and less noise. The notices column puts all video alerts in one organized spot with simple icons, complete limitations, partial limitations, or informational. So, creators know exactly how urgent an alert is. If there's a snag with a video, YouTube will tell creators how to fix it. For example, if we see a limited ad earnings notice, we'll also see a

direct prompt to appeal. Now, with this added layer of transparency, creators will know exactly how our content is rated per the advertiser-friendly content guidelines. The visibility column now only shows the statuses we've chosen, like members-only or public, so we can check our intended reach faster. A dedicated estimated revenue column shows what each video is earning. Give it a look and let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments.