YouTube is reportedly experimenting with a new way for creators and users to interact with each other by allowing creators to mention or tag users with the @ symbol.
A few YouTube artists can now tag other users in the comments section of their videos, just as on Twitter, by adding a @ before the username. This new experiment was only launched today. This test is also restricted, for no apparent reason, to the YouTube app for iOS and Android, not the browser version.
Those with access to this test can mention a limited number of channels by name or freshly introduced handle. The video-streaming platform is referring to these as "mentions."
To add a clickable tag to a text, users must hit the three-dot overflow menu button next to the comment they wish to respond to, then choose Reply from the list of alternatives.
Mentions would make this procedure considerably easier and improve the conversation's readability and logical flow, particularly in the thread beneath a parent comment (where disagreements are frequently expressed).
As users type, the app will provide a drop-down menu with recommended channels to assist them. When the comment is posted, the tagged usernames will show up as clickable links much as on other platforms, so other viewers can tap it and find new channels.
Upcoming YouTube Features
According to reports, YouTube has added a ton of test features. Product Manager Dave Wu recently published a blog post on YouTube outlining the five new features on the platform's premium edition.
Two would be stable releases, which means they were already intended for release; however, the other three are experimental releases, which means there could be several problems or flaws that crop up along the route.
First, there's a feature on YouTube that modifies the double-tap skip. Rather than skipping forward ten seconds, its artificial intelligence and "viewership data" would cause it to "jump ahead" to suggested segments of the video. Following that, YouTube Shorts will receive an update enabling Premium users to stream these videos in picture-in-picture (PiP) mode.
YouTube's Other Experimental Features
Additionally, three test features are on the way, but access to them will require people to sign up on this page. Among these are Smart Downloads, which will focus on YouTube Shorts videos for offline viewing, the resurgence of YouTube's conversational AI, and an upcoming revamp for the online Watch page.
YouTube Premium offers an ad-free version of the streaming platform. Users will also get many options, like better streaming (1080p Premium), for a fixed amount. For Premium customers only, this particular function provides improved bitrate quality for the videos first released exclusively online.
YouTube occasionally rolls out new features, but most are exclusive to Premium subscribers before being available to additional free users. Before being made available to free users in the US, the PiP experience allowed users to multitask-was exclusively available to YouTube Premium subscribers.
