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YouTube to Add Swiping Feature to Mobile App to Make Binging Easier

By Laura Tucker
YouTube to Add Swiping Feature to Mobile App to Make Binging Easier Featured Image

Streaming media makes it too easy to binge TV shows. You can sit in your chair and watch several hours at a time. YouTube wants to do the same for YouTube videos. They are making it easier to binge by adding a swiping feature to the YouTube mobile app.

YouTube Swiping Feature

YouTube wants to make it as easy as possible for you to have a binging session on their mobile app. It may seem easy enough now to get stuck for hours watching YouTube, but they plan to make it easier.

Adding a swiping feature to the YouTube mobile app has been under development for two years. Already you can do other gestures like double tapping to skip forward in the video. Now you’ll be able to keep binging the same way.

Swiping to the right will take you to the next recommended video. It works whether you are viewing videos horizontally or vertically, with the latter showing what video is next before you swipe. Swiping to the left will take you to where you left off in the previous video.

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You’ll still be able to scroll down to the “Up Next” section to tap on the next video or can just do the swipe, but it’s thought the swipe will be easier and quicker, as well as taking less energy.

This feature was called “Swipey Watch” while it was in development. YouTube creators were consulted while it was being developed, and it was also brought to beta testers.

While swiping is often added to mobile apps as a feature, it’s not always appreciated by users. Instagram recently rolled out a test accidentally that moved from a scroll feed to a swiping option. They ended up pulling the feature after user complaints.

Furthermore

This will be a big move for YouTube, as its mobile users make up seventy percent of their traffic. If it’s unliked, like it was in Instagram, it could spell trouble. iOS viewers are expected to see the feature this week, while a date hasn’t been shared for an Android launch.

Are you a YouTube binger? Do you think the swiping feature will make it easier for you get to the next video? Let us know your thoughts on the swiping feature being added tot he YouTube mobile app in the comments.

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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