Published: August 14, 2024
Will you use this new YouTube feature?
By Movieguide® Contributor
YouTube has begun testing a sleep timer feature that pauses users’ videos after a set period of time.
The sleep timer, currently being tested, would allow users to choose how long they want their video to play – from 10 minutes to 60 minutes or until the end of the video – before playback pauses. This would save users who want to fall asleep while listening to videos from having to leave their devices on all night.
Once a sleep timer is set, it will remain active and pause the video after the selected period of time unless the user interacts with the video.
Although the sleep timer is currently only available to YouTube Premium subscribers, who can always test new features before they’re generally available, a full implementation of the sleep timer will likely be available to non-paying users at some point. Premium subscribers who want to test the feature can do so until September 2nd, after which it will no longer be available.
Those who want to access the feature can do so in the playback menu for desktop users or under the additional Settings tab for mobile devices.
Tech Crunch reported: “YouTube has lagged a bit behind the competition in adding this feature. Spotify has had a sleep timer for some time, and TikTok began testing sleep nudges based on a preset bedtime last year.”
In addition to improving the user experience on its site, YouTube may also be considering using the feature to satisfy advertisers. YouTube is already the most effective advertising tool, but implementing a sleep timer could make the site even more lucrative for marketers.
The way the site currently works allows for easy, if unintentional, abuse of the system. If users fall asleep with the platform on and videos play throughout the night, the creators of those videos receive advertising revenue for those views, even though the user was not awake to see the ads being played. So companies pay for a prime-time advertising slot, but not all of their ads reach viewers.
The sleep timer would limit the time users can play videos while they sleep to one hour, significantly reducing the number of “blank ads” rolled out on the site.
Movieguide® recently reported on another upcoming change at YouTube:
YouTube is testing a new feature called Hype in Taiwan, Turkey and Brazil.
“In a new experiment announced for a handful of eligible users, YouTube has introduced a new Hype option that bears similarities to the Link option already available for videos (via 9to5Google),” Android Police reported last month.
Viewers with access to the Hype button will see it below videos. When clicked, the button helps boost the video’s ranking on the Explore page. To be fair, this feature is only available for videos whose creator has fewer than 500,000 subscribers.
The Hype feature does not completely override the normal algorithms, as users can only hype videos posted in the last seven days.
“Furthermore, the effect of the hype votes will only help the video rank higher and gain more attention on the Explore page, regardless of the categorized trending section where the algorithm shows the best videos at any given time,” Android Police said. “So it seems that YouTube wants us viewers to help smaller creators rank higher on the Explore page. By letting users hype videos themselves, YouTube could also counteract shady tricks that artificially inflate view counts and boost the Explore page ranking.”
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