One of the largest video content platforms wants to help you jump to the important parts of the videos with a new feature. S ource: Unsplash/ Alexander Shatov
YouTube will soon show you which parts of a video have been viewed and repeated the most. This gives you the opportunity to jump straight to the interesting part of the video. The feature was already available to YouTube Premium subscribers, but will soon be av ailable to everyone.
The Verge reports that the feature is already available to everyone. The magazine is probably referring to the American market, because we can’t see it on our PC browser or in the mobile YouTube app. However, the chances are good that the highlight function will soon be available for Europe users as well.
This is how the feature works: A wavy graph will then appear behind the normal timeline at the bottom of the video showing where you are. The higher the wave, the more people looked at this spot. Conversely, most viewers skipped places where the graph is flat. So these are probably not very exciting. The Verge also shared a screenshot showing what the feature looks like on the YouTube app:
This is what the new feature looks like in the YouTube app. Source: YouTube/ The Verge
New input for creative people
The YouTube highlights are not only interesting for viewers, but also for the creators of videos. This gives them new data that shows them which parts of the videos are of particular interest to their viewers and which are not so well received. This can be valuable feedback that creatives can use to better tailor their videos to their viewers’ preferences.
For example, if an intro is skipped by most users, the YouTuber can shorten it or leave it out completely in the next video. In the screenshot we also see an overlay with three asterisks and the font Most replayed 07:32
. This indicates that the feature also shows you the most repeated part of a video.
For this Lego fan who uploaded a video of himself recreating a mechanism from Minecraft, one highlight might be the finished build, as that’s probably what interests viewers the most:
Lego fan builds Minecraft mechanism:
Millions are watching on YouTube
The benefit has yet to be seen
However, it remains to be seen how useful the highlight feature will be at the end of the day. We think it could be useful, especially for longer videos, to highlight key points. But it can also help uncover inappropriate and irrelevant parts of the video to save you some time.
The feature comes just over 17 years after the video platform was launched. If you want to know what you missed during that time, we have compiled the 10 most successful videos of all time for you here:
17 years of YouTube: These are the 10 most successful videos of all time
What do you think of the feature? Will it enrich your YouTube experience or do you watch full YouTube videos anyway? Please let us know!
