According to reports, Google-owned YouTube has been testing to hide the comments section on its Android app. Earlier the comments section was accessible by scrolling down the page, but now it has been hidden behind the comment button that has been placed just below the video.
- YouTube app shows the Comments button below the video player
- The button sits next to the Like, Dislike, and Share buttons
- It brings the comments section in an overflow window
YouTube Tests Hiding Comments
Till now, we could see the comments on YouTube below the videos. While on desktop, they were right below the videos, on the Android mobile app, one had to scroll down past the recommended videos to see them. According to a report by XDA Developers, the company is adding a dedicated comments button to access them. It will be placed along with Dislike and Share buttons below the video. On pressing it, the comments that users have made on the video will open up. There will also be a separate button to close the window.
A YouTube spokesperson told IANS on Friday, “We are testing a few different options on how to display comments on the watch page. This is one of many small experiments we run all the time on YouTube and we’ll consider rolling features out more broadly based on feedback on these experiments.”
Even though the test feature is on by default currently, creators have the choice of turning the feature off which would traditionally display comments under their videos like the usual format.
For now, it remains unclear if YouTube would expand the experiment from Android to iOS or not. Users who visit YouTube for videos and not to comment could easily keep themselves out of any hate, misinformation, toxicity or controversy that may have come up in the “Comments” section.
In February, YouTube announced that it would no longer recommend videos that “come close” to violating its community guidelines, such as conspiracy or medically inaccurate videos like those claiming the earth is flat or making false claims about historical events.
In a similar attempt and to channelise user-focus on sharing and viewing better and sensible content on its platform, Facebook-owned photo-messaging app Instagram is also planning on hiding the ‘Like’ counts for posts on its app.
This big move by YouTube hiding the comment section on the platform is primarily happening in India, as according to the report, other regions have not reported it yet. Till now, the button has only been seen on YouTube’s Android app and there is no word on if and when it will come to iOS and desktop.
