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YouTube now lets you remove channels from homepage, Up Next recommendations

One big critique of YouTube is its recommendations engine that can surface videos that would otherwise not have a wide audience. The Google video site today announced “more control” by letting you remove channels from Homepage and Up Next recommendations.

One thing we’ve consistently heard from you is that you want more control over what videos appear on your homepage and in Up Next suggestions. So we’re doing more to put you in the driver’s seat.

For starters, you can now remove suggestions from channels you don’t want to watch, with YouTube admitting that its algorithms “don’t always get it right.” Tapping the three-dot overflow menu next to videos on the homepage and Up Next will present a new “Don’t recommend channel” button.

After that, you should no longer see videos from that channel suggested to you on YouTube. You may still be able to find them if you subscribe, search for them, or visit the channel page or Trending tab.

The ability to remove remove channel recommendations in YouTube for Android and iOS is rolling out starting today, and coming soon to the desktop web.

YouTube will now note why it recommends some content with a small box underneath. This specifically applies to “videos from channels you haven’t seen before based on what other viewers with similar interests have liked and watched in the past.” This could help inform what YouTube channel recommendations you want to remove.

Our goal is to explain why these videos surface on your homepage in order to help you find videos from new channels you might like. This new feature is available globally on the YouTube app for iOS today, and will be available on Android and desktop soon.

Today’s third announcement is related to giving watchers more control over the kinds of recommendations they see. The top of the Home feed and Up Next under videos features a new carousel of topics to browse.

The options that you see are based on your existing personalized suggestions and are meant to help you find what you’re looking for faster. They could be videos related to the one you’re watching, videos published by the channel you’re watching, or other topics which may be of interest to you.

This is not yet rolled out, but will first launch in English on YouTube for Android. It is coming soon to iOS, desktop, and other languages.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com