Time for another cup of tea and a sit down as YouTube announces that it will be messing around with its subscription feed yet again.
Yesterday, a YouTube user noticed that their subscription feed was no longer in chronological order. Team YouTube responded on Twitter, saying they are 'currently experimenting with how to show content in the subs feed'.
The platform is now trialling a more personalised order - using an algorithm to determine what users might want to watch based on their watch history.
Just to clarify. We are currently experimenting with how to show content in the subs feed. We find that some viewers are able to more easily find the videos they want to watch when we order the subs feed in a personalized order vs always showing most recent video first.
— Team YouTube (@TeamYouTube) May 23, 2018
Can you not?
Naturally, YouTubers are already hitting out at the news. Gaming creator Jacksepticeye tweeted saying that "people use the subscription tab to avoid this algorithmic behavious on the platform", while fellow YouTuber Ethan 'H3H3' Klein simply suggested YouTube might as well just get rid of subscription button altogether.
People use the subscription tab to mainly avoid this sort of algorithmic behaviour on the platform. Please keep that to the home page and recommendations
— Jacksepticeye (@Jack_Septic_Eye) May 24, 2018
The sub feed was the last place that was untouched by YouTube's "optimization". Now YT can make ur channel completely invisible even to ur own subscribers. Stop wasting our time @TeamYouTube - just erase the sub button already and show us what you want us to watch. pic.twitter.com/FKcE3XUplc
— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) May 24, 2018
No. We dont want this. Stop doing this. Leave the sub boxes alone. We subscribe to ppl we actually want to watch. And we want to watch EVERTHING they do WHEN it comes out. Not when u decide its convenient for us to see it.
— Tiffany Von Gravely (@TiffVonGravely) May 24, 2018
YouTube has only said they are experimenting with the move, and there's no confirmation that they'll implement this method across the entire platform. However, the backlash the company is recieving for these changes may factor in to their decision to invalidate the subscription function.
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