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  1. hellowalkman
    Adblock: Google did not slow down and lag YouTube performance with ad blocker on by Sayan Sen Back in November, the internet was abuzz with conspiracy theories of Google purposely slowing down YouTube on Mozilla Firefox while its own browser, Chrome, would work fine. However, those rumors were shot down soon after as Google explained that it was not just Firefox that was the subject of "suboptimal viewing" experience and that it was happening irrespective of the browser. Google put the blame on "installed ad blockers." Fast forward two months, now in January we just had another similar incident with several user reports online of YouTube being slow with adblockers. As is usually the case in these instances, most netizens of course were quick to once again point the finger at Google. The issue was first brought to attention by Reddit users and the thread blew up with many more chiming in to say they were experiencing a similar thing. As it turns out, the bug was not YouTube or Google and was in fact a problem with Adblock and Adblock Plus' recent update Version 5.17.0. Hence if you were using something else like uBlock Origin (like me), you probably did not notice any slowdown. Adblock Plus developers noted the issue as performance regression on its GitLab repo. It wrote: Recently, ABP released version 3.22 which upgraded the bundled extension engine version to 1.1.1. AdBlock released version 5.17.0 which also updated the extension engine to version 1.1.1. We've had several reports of slow response time since the update. It appears to be an issue in the extension engine since ABP, AdBlock, and the EWE test extension all seem to experience a similar issue with the 1.1.1 version of the extension engine. The issue has now been fixed with the latest eyeo's Web Extension Ad Blocking Toolkit (EWE) version 1.1.2, where the breaking change has been reverted. Name: @eyeo/webext-ad-filtering-solution New version: 1.1.2 Reverted "Content filters are now updated via the history.pushState() event, when single page apps navigate using the browser's history API (EE-14, EE-90)". Breaking changes: None. Other changes: Reverted performance regression. Hence, if you are one of those users who is experiencing issues with Adblock and Adblock Plus, you should update your extension. It is also advised not to run multiple content filters or adblockers on your browser if you are facing performance issues. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!
  2. Chasethebase
    YouTube appears to be slowing itself down upon detecting ad blockers by Steve Bennett As Google continues to wage war on ad-blocking users who access YouTube, a recent discovery has been made that the site itself will load significantly slower and almost freeze upon detecting an ad blocker. Similar to previous attempts to slow down the site and the introduction of prompts to disable ad blockers, which will prevent viewing of content until the user does so, this change has been discovered to be increasing CPU load for the site, which disappears as soon as the page is reloaded without an ad blocker enabled. In a thread on the YouTube subreddit, users noticed that not just the site but video buffering was slowed with an aim to make YouTube unusable when accessed while ad-blocking software is enabled. An unintended side effect of these changes is that it's causing crashes within another Google product, Google Chrome. https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/195octe/youtube_started_slowing_video_buffer_with_adblock/ Tests by PCGamer have shown that when YouTube is open with AdBlock enabled, CPU load on the author's specific machine is increased by approximately 17% compared to when the add-on is disabled. Additionally, even when users have YouTube Premium subscriptions, the slowdown still happens, with tests still producing an approximate 15-18% CPU load increase. Google, and therefore YouTube, have declined to comment on the recent discoveries. However, given the implementation of a deliberate five-second delay to video loading that was introduced back in November, this latest move is hardly surprising. Google's position on the matter makes it clear that the company wishes to give users who use ad blockers a "suboptimal viewing" experience. As an online publication, Neowin also relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Source: 9to5Google; PCGamer Update: Adblock has explained why Google isn't even the culprit for the slow YouTube performance.
  3. Anushe Fawaz
    Telegram declares reasons behind the removal of Russian fines on some tech giants unclear by Anushe Fawaz On Wednesday, Jan 3, 2024, a couple of tech giants were released from Russia’s list of debtors in the state bailiffs database. These companies faced some fines that have since been dropped. One of these companies, Telegram, today highlighted that it is not aware of the reasons why the fines were removed. Other tech giants that previously had charges imposed on them were Google, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube. According to Reuters, a Telegram spokesperson explained that it could be due to the lack of company-owned assets in Russia. They also clarified that without any offices or workers there, they are unaware as to why the fines were dropped. “Telegram has no assets, offices, employees, or equipment in Russia. Without any presence there, we have no visibility as to why the fines against Telegram and the other companies were dropped." The spokesperson also argued that according to certain Russian news agencies, these fines were removed because the bailiffs were unable to find seizable assets to charge the fine against. Despite this, Telegram is still a widely used platform in Russia. While companies such as Google and Meta had the charges dropped, companies like Twitch and X are still facing them. More specifically, these fines account for a total of 23 million rubles ($251,778.86) and 51 million rubles ($558,292.26) respectively. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, several Western social media platforms refused to provide services in Russia. In January 2022, Meta also presented a pro-Ukraine stance suggesting that the content moderated on Facebook does not promote Russian propaganda. In October 2022, Meta faced strong retaliation from the Russian government as it became a part of the “extremists” list and was consequently banned in the country. As for Google, it faced several heavy fines and had tensions with the Russian government. In May 2022, 7.7 billion rubles ($84,291,183) worth of company assets of Google were seized by Russia. Google Russia also filed for bankruptcy after its bank account was forcibly seized by Russian authorities. Eventually, in October 2023, the Russian subsidiary was declared bankrupt. Hence, with several incidents in history where Western companies were at odds with the Russian authorities, it is interesting to see the removal of the fines. As of now, neither the state bailiffs have commented on the issue nor did we see any of the companies involved, besides Telegram, commenting on the issue.
  4. Martin Hodás
    Scammers will actually pay you $2 for a single YouTube like, targeting your inner greediness by Martin Hodás If you are not new to the internet, you have surely come across a scamming scheme or two. Fake job listings, fraudulent Craigslist sellers, overpromising product ads, and so much more. Now, imagine the possibility of sitting on your cozy couch, sipping a cup of tea, and earning money just by liking pre-selected YouTube videos. Does that sound too good to be true? Well, that's because it is. And yet, some people fall victim to this specific scheme. Why? In part due to the gamble on the cybercriminal’s side. Experts from the cybersecurity company Bitdefender warned against a new online scam utilizing three different social media and messaging platforms: YouTube, WhatsApp, and Telegram. The core of the scam is very simple – an apparent easy income thanks to remotely executed tasks that don’t require any special skill or knowledge. Just a laptop, an internet connection, and your time. Specifically, you have to click the like and subscribe button on certain YouTube videos. That’s it. You don’t even have to watch them in full. The scammers use WhatsApp to contact random users of Mark Zuckerberg’s messaging platform. They are sending spam messages in mass, hoping for a small percentage of users to take the initial bait. Bitdefender Labs researchers pretended to be interested, in order to find out details about the whole chain of events that leads to an empty wallet. First, the scammers ask you to provide the following: Your WhatsApp phone number. Full name. Age and occupation. And most importantly: your bank account number. What follows is the list of three YouTube videos. You have to click the like and subscribe, then take screenshots and send them to the person on the other side – called “a receptionist” – as proof. The receptionist then instructs you to download Telegram, another messaging platform known for freedom of speech, but also for the spread of misinformation and online scams. Only now comes the main bait that separates this scamming scheme from thousands of others: you actually get paid. Bitdefender Labs researchers received roughly $6.50 for just a few quick clicks. The reason? This time around, the scammers decided to play a long game. Online scams are all about trust. The higher trust the scammers manage to build, the greater the potential harm they can cause. And the ultimate trust-builder in this case is when somebody actually pays you what they promised. Telegram messaging app is a favorite place for many online scammers. In this case, they are sharing apparent proof of a user who was successfully paid for liking the YouTube videos after he sent some money upfront. With the victim's judgment and caution affected by up until now positive experience, scammers try to get a return on their “investment”. They say you can earn much more by entering the VIP group of remote workers – but, you have to pay something upfront. These upfront payments range from roughly $20.00 to $1,100. Once you pay, it's over. The scammers stop responding and block your number with virtually zero chance of getting your money back. Still, if you ever fall victim to any online scam, don’t hesitate, file a police report. Additionally, remember to contact your bank, especially If you have disclosed your bank or card details to the fraudsters – you might prevent further financial losses. Tricked or not, don’t forget to tell your family and friends as well. The more people are aware of the latest tactics of (not only) online scammers, the higher the chance that fraudsters’ long game will turn into a losing one. Image: Bitdefender Labs
  5. John Callaham
    You can check out Season 1 of the Halo live action TV series for free on YouTube right now by John Callaham If you are a fan of Microsoft's long-running Halo first-person shooter series, you might know that there is a Halo live-action TV series. It was announced way back in 2013, and after several years in development it finally debuted in March 2022 on the Paramount+ streaming service. However, until now, you had to sign up for the service to watch the first season. Today, Paramount+ has posted the entire first season of the Halo show for free on its YouTube channel. The series has the same basic premise as the games, as Master Chief, a member of the super soldier Spartans group, leads the fight in the 26th century against the alien threat known as the Covenant. Fans of the games should know that 343 Industries, the developer and caretaker of the Halo games and franchise, have stated that the TV show takes place in its own "Silver Timeline". The developer stated at the time: The Silver Timeline is a unique vision of the Halo universe that contains and embraces many key elements of the core canon that has spanned the last two decades, but with relevant contextual and narrative details that diverge in ways appropriate (and necessary) to the storytelling opportunities presented by the TV medium and our collaboration with creative partners. The first season of the Halo series debuted to mixed reviews from critics but the show was renewed before the first episode dropped for a second season. Indeed we may get the first look at the second season, and an official release date, very soon. Variety reports that Paramount+ is attending the big Brazilian comic convention CCXP and on Saturday, December 2, it will host a panel at the convention. We think its extremely likely that the panel will include the first trailer for Halo Season 2, along with a debut date for that season
  6. John Callaham
    Google's Bard chatbot can now watch and offer info about YouTube video content by John Callaham While Microsoft has now retired its Bing Chat brand name for its generative AI chatbot in favor of Pilot, Google is still sticking with the Bard name for its rival chatbot, at least for now. During the past week, Google has added some new features to Bard, including a way to chat about specific content of YouTube videos, The new feature is an update of sorts to Google's Bard Extensions that launched back in September. Those extensions allow Bard to connect to other Google apps and services, which of course includes YouTube, so it can get information from them to use in conversations. Now this week's update adds some more features specific to YouTube. In the official Bard update page, It states: We're taking the first steps in Bard's ability to understand YouTube videos. For example, if you’re looking for videos on how to make olive oil cake, you can now also ask how many eggs the recipe in the first video requires. We’ve heard you want deeper engagement with YouTube videos. So we’re expanding the YouTube Extension to understand some video content so you can have a richer conversation with Bard about it. Google also added some other new features to Bard last week. They include adding new "step-by-step explanations" to solving math equations. Another new feature from last week allows Bard to create charts, either from any data that the user types in a prompt, or from tables that Bard itself might create during a conversation. Google also lowered the minimal required age to use Bard last week, down to 13 years old in some countries. In addition, the company revealed last week it will be taking action against two groups of cybercriminals who have used the Bard name to scam others, including making people think they need to download Bard in an effort to distribute malware.
  7. hellowalkman
    Google explains why it did not make Firefox load YouTube slowly on purpose by Sayan Sen Earlier today, we covered an interesting story wherein users online reported about YouTube loading slower when using Firefox. What was curious about it was the fact that YouTube would load perfectly normally if the browser was tricked into thinking it was Google Chrome using a User Agent switcher. YouTube loading slow on Firefox This behavior was picked up by Reddit users mainly and although it may seem to be like a performance optimization issue or a lack of it by the Mozilla Firefox development team, sharp-eyed users noticed code sections that had a 5000 ms or a five-second delay that appeared to be intentionally placed there for some reason. When requested for comment on the matter, Google provided the following statement to 9to5Google: To support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube, we’ve launched an effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience. Users who have ad blockers installed may experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using. Hence according to Google, the delay was due to installed ad blockers which was leading to a "suboptimal viewing" experience. Interestingly the tech giant further added that this was to be the case "regardless of the browser they are using" suggesting that it was not just Firefox that should be affected. So it seems like there is more than meets the eye because at quick glance, most would assume foul play is involved especially since spoofing Chrome seems to work. And there is apparently an explanation for that too. Another Redditor frisch85 went deeper into the suspicious code and it seems to nicely align with the statement provided by Google. They explain: I checked the code with the part you quoted, I doubt this is firefox related as there's no check on the user agent when this code is executed. It looks more like an ad-thing. .. this seems to be just lazy implementation instead of doing anything shady,.. To me this looks more like the lazy attempt of ensuring an ad is being displayed for at least 5 seconds until the actual video is going to load. Why is it slow the first time someone loads and not every time? Simple, YT doesn't reload the page as we would expect it to reload, instead it prevents you from reloading the whole page but causes itself to reload the contents without reloading all of the scripts, which some websites do these days and I don't like it tbh as it will load faster but it's not an actual reload. Hence, the example of YouTube running perfectly on Chrome after struggling on Firefox could have more to do with how YouTube itself "reloads" instead of some shenanigans being involved.
  8. hellowalkman
    YouTube seemingly intentionally slow loading on Firefox while Google Chrome works fine by Sayan Sen Update: Google has provided an explanation for the slow loading of YouTube on Firefox. Original article below. Back in March, we covered an interesting browser report wherein Russian software Yandex alleged that its browser was being intentionally devised to crash up to five times more often and eat up more memory on systems running AMD graphics cards or integrated graphics. The problem was not a Chromium-based issue as a "chrome.exe" file workaround would fix the issue. You can read about the report in full in this article here. Reports and allegations like these often pop up from time to time and it is hardly surprising since browser companies are always at war trying to one-up each other to gain market share or increase user base. The latest such incident seems to be happening right now as there are several user reports online which suggest that YouTube is being intentionally crippled on Firefox and is being made to load up slower. YouTube loading slow on Firefox At first glance, if your internet connection is fine, it will seem like the issue could be related to performance and hardware optimization on Firefox's behalf, perhaps poor or sub-optimal hardware acceleration support or the improper utilization of the available processor threads, among other system resources. However, users found that the issue—a 5-second delay when loading a YouTube video on the Firefox browser—goes away when YouTube is tricked into thinking that it is running on Google Chrome using a User Agent switcher. A Redditor paintboth1234 suggests the problem is due to a five-second delay, which is in the code. They write: To clarify it more, it's simply this code in their polymer script link: setTimeout(function() { c(); a.resolve(1) }, 5E3); which doesn't do anything except making you wait 5s (5E3 = 5000ms = 5s). You can search for it easily in https://www.youtube.com/s/desktop/96766c85/jsbin/desktop_polymer_enable_wil_icons.vflset/desktop_polymer_enable_wil_icons.js Apparently, the problem does not occur when uBlock Origin is used, so if you are annoyed by the five-second loading of YouTube on Firefox and don't want to use a User Agent swither workaround, you can always use the good ol' uBlock Origin. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Thanks for the tip, anonymous tipster!
  9. John Callaham
    Google will soon add labels for YouTube videos when they contain generative AI content by John Callaham The rise of generative AI has also meant we are seeing more and more art and videos that have been created by AI tools like DALL-E 3, Bing Image Creator, and more. We have also seen these tools designed to be "deep fakes", made to fool people into thinking they are real videos filmed in the real world. The biggest user-created video service remains Google's YouTube. Today, the company announced that over the coming months, it plans to help its billions of users find out if a video they are viewing was made with generative AI tools. In a blog post, Google stated: Specifically, we’ll require creators to disclose when they've created altered or synthetic content that is realistic, including using AI tools. When creators upload content, we will have new options for them to select to indicate that it contains realistic altered or synthetic material. For example, this could be an AI-generated video that realistically depicts an event that never happened, or content showing someone saying or doing something they didn't actually do. The new labels will be added to a video's description panel. If such a video deals with what Google feels are "sensitive topics", a similar label will be added directly to the video player. That will include content made with YouTube’s own generative AI products. YouTube content creators will be given some time to learn more about these generative AI video labeling requirements before they are rolled out. Creators who don't place these labels when required on their videos could have the clips removed, or their accounts suspended. If the videos violate YouTube's Community Guidelines they will be removed even if they are properly labeled as being made by generative AI. Google will also add a way for people to request an AI-made video that "simulates an identifiable individual" be removed from YouTube. That will also be made available for people who find music on the service that replicates an artist's voice.
  10. Anushe Fawaz
    After YouTube and TikTok, Meta and Snap are being asked to share safety policies by the EU by Anushe Fawaz The European Commission under the Digital Services Act (DSA) is enforcing tech giants and social media apps to be more transparent regarding their policies to protect children on their platforms. The DSA signed in 2022, has called out companies like Meta, Snap, YouTube, and TikTok. Yesterday, the commission asked TikTok and YouTube to comment on how they plan to ensure child safety on their platforms. A TikTok spokesperson replied that the company is working with the commission regarding the matter, whereas YouTube has yet to comment. While the EU asked YouTube and TikTok to share their policies by November 30, according to Reuters, Meta and Snap have been asked to share them by December 1. These regulations come under the DSA, which is helping the EU ensure online safety and that tech giants are doing more to put an end to illegal activities on their platforms. It also calls for a complete ban on advertising to kids. Furthermore, with the DSA in place, the commission has the power to investigate companies and their operations if they are not satisfied with the responses provided by the companies. The EU can also charge fines as high as 6% of their global turnover. The commission wrote in yesterday’s press release: “Pursuant to Article 74 (2) of the DSA, the Commission can impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to a request for information. In case of failure to reply, the Commission may decide to request the information by decision. In this case, failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the imposition of periodic penalty payments.” In October 2023, the DSA called out Meta and TikTok to address disinformation to mitigate the spread of violent content, hate speech, and terrorism-related content on their apps. This came about a week after the commission asked Twitter (now known as “X”) to do the same.
  11. Chasethebase
    YouTube announces "For you" section of channel Home tabs to recommend content to viewers by Steve Bennett YouTube has announced on X today that it will be introducing a new section of the channel Home tab, called "For you." This new section will recommend a selection of content from your channel to viewers based on their watch history if they have it enabled. ✨ introducing the “For you” section of your channel Home tab that recommends a mix of content from your channel to viewers based on their watch history 🚨 creators: review your settings & select formats before we roll out to viewers on 11/20 more: https://t.co/FNZUVWVPEA pic.twitter.com/0ga30rU1JC — TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) November 8, 2023 YouTube also went on to say that creators need to review their channel settings and select formats that will be displayed in the new section prior to the rollout date. Viewers will begin seeing this new section on channel pages starting from 20th November. In a response to the original post on X, YouTube went on to demonstrate what this will look like to viewers, which will be a carousel style view on mobile combining videos, shorts, and livestreams that have been posted to a channel. this is what a viewer will see after 11/20! right now creators can tweak their settings ahead of the rollout 🥳 pic.twitter.com/TwZbEMkjjD — TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) November 8, 2023 This change will also bring older content on channels back to the forefront, potentially increasing exposure to videos and shorts that have been buried for some time now. However, it will also push down the content lists that have been curated by channels to a lower view, almost off the screen in this example. These settings can be found on the web as well as in the YouTube Studio app, by navigating to channel settings. Displaying this panel does appear to be optional, with YouTube stating that the section can be toggled on/off in these settings as well, so it will be interesting to see how widespread the adoption of this is, and how beneficial it is to channels.
  12. Omer Dursun
    YouTube tests generative AI-based comment summarization and a conversational tool by Omer Dursun YouTube announced it will begin limited experiments with two new AI-powered features on its labs' website. The tests aim to enhance the viewing experience and help creators through conversation and comments summarization tools. The first feature involves a conversational tool available through an "Ask" option on video watch pages. Premium members in the US can ask questions about the currently playing content or select prompts to get related recommendations, all without pausing playback. According to YouTube, the AI is designed to have natural discussions and provide information to help viewers engage more with what they're watching. This tool lets you get answers to questions about the video you're watching, recommendations for related content, and more, all without interrupting playback. If you're a part of the experiment, you can access the tool by tapping. Ask beneath select videos and begin by asking questions about the video or choosing a suggested prompt. A second test, now reaching a small number of users, involves using generative AI to analyze and organize discussion topics arising in video comments. Viewers may be able to quickly grasp what people are talking about, while creators could gain insights or find inspiration for new videos from popular comment themes. Creators would also have controls to delete summarized comments if desired. To help you easily understand and participate in comment conversations, we're experimenting with AI that organizes large comment sections of long-form videos into easily digestible themes. In a similar move last month, YouTube Music introduced generative AI to create customized playlist art for English-speaking US users. The feature allows users to create unique artwork for their playlists by exploring different visual themes. YouTube plans to closely monitor feedback on how people experience these early-stage features enhanced by large language models over the trial period. The company emphasized that "it may not always get it right" with these features but aims to improve the viewing and creation experience on its platform through safe experimentation.
  13. Omer Dursun
    Google's revenue up 11% year-on-year, but shares fall as cloud miss expectations by Omer Dursun Alphabet, Google's parent company, reported third-quarter earnings on Tuesday that beat Wall Street expectations. The company's revenue grew 11 percent year-over-year to $76.7 billion. However, shares fell about 5 percent in after-hours trading as revenue from its cloud business fell short of analysts' projections. Alphabet earned $1.55 per share on revenue of $76.03 billion for the third quarter ended September 30th. Analysts surveyed by LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) were expecting $1.46 per share on revenue of $75.80 billion. Advertising continues to be Google's core business and main profit driver. Ad revenue grew 13 percent to $59.65 billion, reversing a slowdown during the economic downturn. YouTube ads specifically rose 12 percent to $7.95 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $7.82 billion. The video platform helped offset inflation pressures in other areas of Google's ad business. However, Alphabet's cloud division, Google Cloud, saw revenue of $8.41 billion for the quarter, missing StreetAccount projections of $8.64 billion. Still, cloud sales were up 22 percent year-over-year as the company aims to challenge market leaders Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Other Bets, Alphabet's portfolio of non-ad businesses such as Waymo, reported an increase in revenue to $297 million from $208 million a year earlier. However, the unit continued to lose money, with an operating loss of $1.19 billion versus $1.23 billion in the prior year. Analysts say generative AI could significantly impact Google's search and advertising dominance if it reshapes how people search for information online. The company is racing to integrate such technology into more products following the rollout of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Earlier this year, Google announced a major layoff as part of its cost-cutting efforts. The company has made the decision to reduce its workforce by 12,000 people. This is roughly 6 percent of its total headcount. In other news, Microsoft has just announced its latest financial figures. The company's total revenue was $56.5 billion, up 13 percent from last year.
  14. Anushe Fawaz
    YouTube Music adds generative AI to the mix, reveals new music discovery feature, and more by Anushe Fawaz YouTube has announced the latest features to its YouTube Music app, making it easier for users to find new songs, build a music community, and enjoy a personalized experience. The company blog post mentions a new feature that is rolling out today. It is an experimental capability for English language U.S. users on YouTube Music that creates customized playlist art using generative AI. This feature allows users to create unique artwork for their playlists by exploring a variety of visual themes. While available only in English in the U.S. at the moment, the company saysmore languages and access in more countries will be added in the future. Additionally, the company mentioned that YouTube Music would make music discovery more convenient for users. It stated that a new feature on the Home tab would launch in the coming months to showcase new releases from the artists the user has been listening to on repeat. The facility will be placed at the top of the Home tab. Recapping all the features introduced this year by YouTube Music, we have the “Create a radio” capability that allows users to get a personalized learning experience. Not only does it help them select their favorite artists, but they can also set moods for their playlists alongside other customizations. It also introduced the Samples tab that lets users experience short video segments from music videos. Users can explore different artists and music just by swiping vertically across the screen. The company further explains the capability stating: “Find something you like? Quickly add the song to your collection, share it with friends, create your next favorite playlist, kick off a great new radio station, watch the full video, visit the album page, or even use the song to create your own Short. Swipe into your next music obsession in the Samples tab.” The company also introduced YouTube-like comment sections on the YouTube Music app to allow listeners to engage with their artists and their songs more often. Lastly, the music app launched timed lyrics where users could skip to the desired parts of their songs and get real-time lyrics to sing along.
  15. John Callaham
    Windows Phone may allow you to get around the YouTube ad blocker via Chrome (sort of) by John Callaham Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system hasn't been supported for years. However, an interesting trick involving Microsoft's mobile OS could help people view videos on YouTube without ads. Back in August, we reported that Google was getting more aggressive with people who used adblockers to view videos on YouTube's website. In addition to a warning box letting people know they had to either watch ads on the site or pay for a YouTube Premium subscription, they also put in a countdown timer in the top right corner of the box, which showed how much time was left before an ad starts running on the site. Well, the X (formerly Twitter) user known as "endermanch" posted up a note a few days ago (via Windows Central) that offers a possible solution for getting around the adblocker warning on YouTube's site. It involves downloading a user agent switcher extension for Chrome. There are a number of third-party switchers, and even Google has published one in the Chrome store. So, ad blockers violate YouTube ToS? Good, because user agent spoofers don't. Change your user agent to Windows Phone to disable ads.https://t.co/mDOROwyNkT pic.twitter.com/q0kYArnOk6 — Enderman (@endermanch) October 20, 2023 Once you download and install the extension, people can then switch the user agent on Chrome to Windows Phone. Basically, it tells the YouTube site, when you browse your way to it, that your web browser is on Windows Phone. For some unknown reason, the YouTube site has put in an exception for browsing videos on Windows Phone and thus it should not show that adblocker warning. It's likely that Google felt that since Windows Phone is pretty much a dead OS, it didn't need to configure the YouTube ad blocker to look for it. Of course, now that this user agent extension trick is out in the wild, Google may close this loophole pretty quickly. Having said that, it's still interesting that Windows Phone still has its uses years after its shutdown.
  16. Aditya Tiwari
    YouTube launches a new watch page just for news stories by Aditya Tiwari YouTube has launched a new watch page to show stories related to specific news topics getting traction on its platform. The company said it's a new immersive watch page experience for news stories that "will pull together content from authoritative sources." The news watch page has started rolling out and it will be available in over 40 countries in the coming future. It's supported on mobile devices as of now, but YouTube said that the feature will be available on its desktop and TV interfaces as well. You can access the YouTube news watch page on the homepage feed or in search results. Primarily, it's meant to show up when a user looks for news stories on YouTube. The feature consolidates video content from a variety of sources and formats such as long-form, podcasts, live, and Shorts. The YouTube news watch page carries a newspaper icon to differentiate itself from regular videos in the feed. You can swipe on its card to see thumbnails of various related stories. Apart from that, YouTube has also announced a new Shorts Innovation Program to help news organizations create short-form video content. In a blog post, YouTube stated: Our goal with the Shorts Innovation Program is to jumpstart innovative news publishers who are interested in embracing short-form news capabilities, but haven’t had the resources to do so. We look forward to getting feedback from publishers on the opportunities and challenges to short-form content, as we work together to support an innovative news ecosystem. YouTube will select participants for the program based on their existing long-form video presence. The company has set aside a funding of $1.6 million which it will spend while working with over 20 organizations across 10 countries. This new watch page was added not long after YouTube's recent feature drop introducing various features like Stable Volume and a new way to increase playback speed. In recent news, YouTube's parent company Google pulled the plug on the Google Podcasts app in favor of YouTube Music. YouTube's Premium Lite subscription tier, which is available in select countries, is also going away later this month.
  17. John Callaham
    Google rolls out lots of new YouTube features including quick 2x playback speed and more by John Callaham Google is rolling out a large number of features on its YouTube video streaming service. Many of them are designed to give users faster ways to speed up playback on a video, or to lock one down so you don't accidentally cause it to stop, fast forward, or rewind. 'The official YouTube blog has the details on these changes. One of the big new features is made specifically for people who like to watch videos at faster than normal speeds: When watching a video either in full screen or portrait mode, just press and hold down anywhere on the player to automatically bump your playback speed to 2x. Once you get to the part of the video you want, simply let go! This feature will be available across web, tablets, and mobile devices. Then there's the new lock screen feature which will keep your video playing even if you might tap on pause or some other control. In order to enable it, go to a YouTube video's settings icon and tap on it, then tap on the Screen lock option. The video will keep playing no matter what. If you want to unlock it, just tap anywhere on the video and the Tap to unlock icon will appear so you can tap it. Another new mode that is actually rolling out today on mobile devices is called stable volume. When you watch a YouTube video on the mobile app, this feature is automatically toggled on so that there won't be huge ups and downs in a video's volume level. This feature can be toggled off in a video's settings. Android devices will get a new AI feature in the next few weeks that will allow users to find a song that's on YouTube just by the user playing, singing, or humming a tune into the app. Google is also going to ditch the Libary tab in YouTube on mobile and the web. In its place, there will be the new You tab. That's where users will be able to see their previously watched videos, playlists, downloads, and purchases. It will also replace the Account tab as it will have all of those settings as well. Again, most of these new features, and more will be rolled out over the next few weeks so it may be a little while before you see these changes.
  18. Omer Dursun
    Google celebrates its 25th birthday with a doodle featuring its nostalgic logo by Omer Dursun The world's most popular search engine and tech giant Google is celebrating its 25th birthday today. To mark the occasion, Google has posted a nostalgic doodle showing the evolution of its logo over the past 25 years. The doodle features an animated GIF that transforms the logo from 'Google' to 'G25gle', signifying the tech giant's 25th anniversary. Clicking on the doodle triggers virtual confetti on the page. In a blog post, Google wrote; Twenty-five years ago we launched Google Search to help you find answers to questions big and small. Since then, billions of people have turned to our products to do just that — to satisfy their curiosity. To start a business. To start a journey. To cut a pineapple. Google CEO Sundar Pichai marked the milestone birthday in a blog post last month, expressing gratitude for the people and partners who have contributed to the company's innovations over the past quarter century. It's a huge privilege to reach this milestone, made possible by the people who use our products and challenge us to keep innovating, the hundreds of thousands of Googlers past and present who have given their talents to building those products, and our partners who believe in our mission as much as we do. On September 4, 1998, Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students at Stanford University. The company was officially incorporated as Google Inc. on September 27, 1998. While Google celebrated its birthday on September 4 for the first seven years, it later decided to move the festivities to September 27 to align with the announcement of the record number of web pages the search engine was indexing. Over the years, Google has expanded its services, including Gmail, Docs, and Maps. The company also acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006. According to Statista, YouTube is valued at nearly $30 billion, while Google's current market capitalization is $1.65 trillion.
  19. John Callaham
    The Google Podcasts app is going away sometime in 2024 in favor of YouTube Music by John Callaham Google is planning to retire yet another one of its apps or services. This time, it's the Google Podcasts app, which will be going away sometime in 2024. The standalone Google Podcasts app first launched for Android in 2018, with the company stating at the time that it was created so it would "make it easier than ever for Android users to discover and listen to podcasts." Later that year it announced plans for its own Google Podcasts creator program, to help “underrepresented voices” in the making of their own podcast content. In 2020, the Google Podcasts app finally made its debut on Apple's iOS platform. However, it looks like the company is going to be making some changes in how it offers podcasts on its platform. Earlier in 2023, it added a way to listen to podcasts inside the YouTube Music app and will add that feature globally around the world by the end of the year. In a blog post today, Google stated that according to outside research, 23 percent of podcast listeners say YouTube is their most frequently used service, while just four percent use Google Podcasts. That's part of the reason why Google stated "we’ll be discontinuing Google Podcasts" sometime in 2024. Google added: We want to make sure we get this right and will give fans and podcasters plenty of time to make the transition. For users, it means a simple migration tool and the ability to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube. For those who prefer a different listening platform, the tools will also include an option to download an OPML file of their show subscriptions, which they can upload to an app that supports their import. Podcasters will also see features like analytics tools and RSS uploads incorporated into future updates for YouTube Music. The company says it will wait until all the podcast migration tools are ready before they are released along with their guidelines.
  20. zikalify
    YouTube nixing Premium Lite tier in all the countries it's available in by Paul Hill YouTube has emailed users of its Premium Lite tier to let them know that the EUR 6.99 package is going away from 25 October 2023. If you have never heard of this tier, that’s because it’s only available in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. With YouTube Premium Lite, subscribers could get an ad-free YouTube experience. It differs from other versions of YouTube Premium, though, as you don’t have access to YouTube Music or have the ability to download videos for offline viewing. For those affected by the change, it will be a big step up in terms of pricing if customers want to carry on experiencing YouTube ad-free. In other European countries like France and Germany, customers are forking out EUR 11.99 per month. In an email to subscribers, YouTube said that Premium Lite will no longer be available after 25 October 2023. It acknowledged that the change will be disappointing news for customers but that it’s continuing to work on different versions of Premium Lite using feedback from users, creators, and partners. While YouTube didn’t bring the matter up in the email, the platform seems to have ramped up the number and length of the ads it shows to users. This could be to do with falling ad revenues since the start of the year. If Google intends to keep the current level of ads after revenues increase, it may not think the EUR 6.99 Premium Lite tier is bringing in enough money anymore. Whatever the reason, users in the select European countries will need to get used to paying more or put up with ads. Given YouTube’s comments, it will be interesting to see whether it reintroduces a similar tier in the future and in more markets. There are probably quite a lot of people who would pay for a reduced Premium tier if it meant they could avoid ads. Source: The Verge
  21. Chasethebase
    YouTube is changing the way it serves ads on TV apps by Steve Bennett Today Google has announced that it will be changing the way it serves adverts to viewers on connected TV applications such as those on smart TV's, in response to the growth in users watching long form content on these platforms. Google mentions that it wishes to further develop the connected TV experience, primarily because watch time on the big screen continues to grow even in the face of mobile watch time leading the way significantly. Surveys conducted by Kantar, as well as the latest Nielsen Gauge Report, show that users are increasingly going to YouTube first for their entertainment. The main change that viewers will see going forward is a redesigned ad view that makes it clearer how much time is left before the advert either ends, or is skippable manually by the user. The redesign moves away from a small grey box to a circular timer, which will be familiar to users of the Timer app on iOS specifically, and will begin rolling out soon. The second, and potentially the most impactful change that Google is making to the way it displays ads on connected TV apps, is that it will be moving to longer, less frequent ad segments within videos. This is in a manner that is similar to traditional ad supported TV broadcasts, and will be most noticable during long-form content, with videos 21 minutes or longer reportedly making up over 65% of watch time in the US alone according to YouTube internal data. Google mentions that the decision to make these changes has been made based on real-time feedback from viewers across many markets across the globe, with it going to say that "YouTube is pioneering a fresher, more interactive TV experience." This follows the changes that it made last year to the interface as well as recently exploring adding Games to the site.
  22. Omer Dursun
    YouTube allows some users to play games internally in the new Playables section by Omer Dursun In June, it was rumored that YouTube was internally testing a new product to bring online gaming to its platform. An email sent to Google employees invited them to participate in the testing phase of the YouTube offering, known as Playables. Today, Google officially announced that YouTube is testing playable games. According to a new blog from Google, YouTube is venturing into games as its latest experimental offering. The platform is adding a new "Playables" section that will feature games that can be played on both desktop and mobile. The game rollout is limited to a small number of YouTube users initially. One of the first titles is Stack Bounce, a 3D ball-bouncing game requiring well-timed clicks to smash through rings. Stack Bounce already exists on Google's GameSnacks mini-game service. Playables are games that can be played directly on YouTube on both desktop and mobile devices. If you're part of this experiment, you'll see a section on YouTube called "Playables" that will appear alongside other content on the home feed. You can view and control your Playables history and saved game progress in YouTube History. Google says users can see if they have access to the new Playables game section by looking for it next to their standard YouTube video feeds. This addition of games to YouTube continues the platform's expansion into many forms of entertainment, including short videos, full-length movies, music, television service, podcasts, and more. Recently, YouTube has been testing a channel tab in the Subscriptions feed and humming-based song search. The latest report shows that YouTube is developing a new way to search for songs by humming or singing. Meanwhile, Google discontinued its Stadia cloud gaming service in 2021. The company's biggest gaming successes have come from one-off, playable Doodle games on its homepage. So, Google could gain more traction by surfacing games organically in YouTube feeds.
  23. Omer Dursun
    Following Edge, Google Chrome makes screenshotting video a lot easier with new feature by Omer Dursun Over the past few weeks, Chrome has received some handy features, including a new tool to make sure you're using secure extensions and to make default HTTPS much more secure. Today, Google has quietly rolled out a new feature in the latest version of Chrome— the ability to capture still frames from videos. As announced in a blog post about Chrome tips for college students, users can now easily grab high-quality screenshots from videos playing in the Chrome browser. To use the new tool, pause any video, right-click on it, and select "Copy Video Frame" from the menu. This eliminates the need to utilize third-party tools or screenshot workarounds to grab images from videos on sites like YouTube, Netflix, and more. It provides a quick and seamless way to copy exact frames with just two clicks. It's easy to copy an image from a website in Chrome — but what if you want to capture an important frame from a recorded lecture for your notes? You could take a screenshot, but you'll likely get a lower-quality image (with the video's progress bar cut across it). Available starting today, you can pause anywhere in a video that's playing in Chrome and get a clean copy of the exact frame you want. Just right-click on the video and select "Copy Video Frame." While Google mentioned the feature was available starting today, it does not yet appear to be widely available. Early testing in Chrome version 116.0.5845.141 shows it working on YouTube, but support on many other sites is limited. The captured frames are copied directly to the clipboard rather than saved as image files. Nonetheless, when fully implemented, the video frame-capturing functionality will be a handy addition for many Chrome users who work with online video and imagery. It is worth noting that Microsoft already added the "Copy Video Frame" feature in Edge 116 Stable. As its name suggests, it provides a new and better way to capture screenshots from web-based videos, such as those you might find on YouTube. Chrome remains the most popular browser, with around 61% market share as this new feature feature brings it one step closer to fulfilling the needs of its diverse user base. In addition, Bing Chat launched last week for all Chrome desktop users.
  24. Omer Dursun
    YouTube tests channel tab in Subscriptions feed and humming-based song search by Omer Dursun YouTube is experimenting with two new features to help users find and keep up with content from their favorite creators and discover new music by humming. First, YouTube is testing a new "channel tab" in the Subscriptions feed that bundles multiple recent uploads from a subscribed channel. Instead of seeing each new video separately in the feed, users will see a shelf highlighting all new uploads from that creator since they last checked their feed. According to a blog post, this is aimed at making it easier for viewers to find new content from creators they follow, reducing pressure on creators to upload constantly, and simplifying engagement. It could help users catch up on the latest videos without missing updates. The platform is also developing a new way to search for songs by humming or singing. Users in the experiment can switch to this new song search mode and hum or sing a song for 3+ seconds to have YouTube try to identify it. This feature works like Shazam but is built into YouTube and utilizes advanced melody recognition. Once identified, YouTube will show related music videos, user clips, and Shorts featuring the matched song. We're experimenting with the ability for folks to search for a song on YouTube by humming or recording a song that's currently being played. Once the song is identified, you'll be sent to relevant official music content, user-generated videos, and/or Shorts featuring the searched song in the YouTube app. YouTube made its last major search update in 2021. The update included displaying video chapters directly in search results on mobile, eliminating the need to click on videos to see their content breakdown. Recently, YouTube has been testing new adblock warnings with a countdown timer. It includes a countdown timer in the top right corner, indicating how long the user has left to take action before the ad plays.
  25. Chasethebase
    YouTube reveals its plans for compensating artists for AI music by Steve Bennett In a post on its official blog today, YouTube announced how it plans to tackle the upcoming challenges faced by AI on its platform, particularly with music that is uploaded to the site. With generative AI testing the limits of current copyright law across the world, YouTube has taken it upon itself to work on the task with artists and rights holders on the platform. Within the post, YouTube specifically calls out how it is working with one of its largest music partners, Universal Music Group (UMG), as well as its roster of talent, naming Anitta, Björn Ulvaeus as well as the estate of Frank Sinatra among others, to help gather insights on generative AI that is being worked on at YouTube. The post itself breaks down its plan into three principles, which are: Principle #1: AI is here, and we will embrace it responsibly together with our music partners Principle #2: AI is ushering in a new age of creative expression, but it must include appropriate protections and unlock opportunities for music partners who decide to participate. Principle #3: We've built an industry-leading trust and safety organization and content policies. We will scale those to meet the challenges of AI. To summarise the points above, YouTube aims to continue developing and working on AI-based projects moving forward, while also addressing concerns from the music industry on how the use of these tools is still going to maintain the relevant copyrights of the content's original creators that the generative AI may learn from. Principle #1 references how in 2023 alone the site has already racked up 1.7 billion views of videos related to AI tools alone while referencing the history of music on the platform and partnering with it to further drive creativity on the site. Additionally, YouTube has announced that it will be introducing the Music AI Incubator which it says will "help inform YouTube's approach as we work with some of music's most innovative artists, songwriters, and producers across the industry." Principle #2 primarily talks about how Content ID has already worked very effectively to ensure rights holders get paid for the usage of their content, and how it will be building upon this to integrate the learnings into how it manages AI-generated content. Lastly, Principle #3 talks about how even though generative AI going to require a lot of work to manage on the platform, it can also be used as a tool to fight against copyright abuse on the site. Continuing to invest in AI-powered technology to protect the community of viewers, creators, artists and songwriters. YouTube also goes on to state that "these three principles are a critical part of our overall approach to AI at YouTube" with further plans and updates coming in the future on specific technologies and monetisation opportunities, and policies across the platform relevant to generative AI use, stating that these provide a strong foundation for both YouTube and the music industry to better navigate what's coming.