Handy YouTube Features You Should Know About

Just like an over-enthusiastic freshman going through a make-over to shine out in a college packed with strangers, YouTube came back with a revamped look this season.

Certain YouTube reforms, such as the new logo that is devised to downplay the focus from the word Tube, are essentially added for the purpose of marketing and brand building. However, apart from the refreshed look, both the website as well as the app has silently released an array of new features to optimize the YouTube experience.

Here is a list of handy YouTube features you must know about:

1. Tap Twice to Rewind or Fast Forward

Do you watch videos on YouTube while commuting to work and often get zoned out? Well, just, tap twice on the left-hand portion of the video in order to rewind a bit. Do you want to skip a specific chunk of the video? Well, just tap twice on the right-hand portion of the video. This feature is very handy in rewinding or fast forwarding videos.

2. Increase or Decrease the Playback Speed

Well, do you often watch tutorials or lectures on YouTube? Sometimes these may be slower than you'd like them to be. Well, you can quickly speed up the video by increasing its playback speed. Are you learning how to dance and want to watch the video at a slower pace to see the steps more clearly? You can slow down the playback speed as well. Just select the video and start playing it. Just press anywhere on the video, and touch the tri-button icon located in the upper right-hand edge of the screen. Go to playback speed and select the rate.

3. Watch YouTube in Dark Theme

Everyone may not prefer YouTube's light theme. Users can change the YouTube website themes to dark mode. This theme is really cool and convenient for those who watch YouTube videos at night. In order to enable the dark mode, just open the YouTube website and go to your profile icon located in the top right-hand corner. Merely click on Dark Theme from the pull-down menu.

4. Preview Thumbnails Before Watching

Video preview is another new feature added to YouTube. Users can now see a three seconds long preview of the video before they play it. This offers a greater YouTube experience and users can easily locate the videos that they wish to see. You just need to hover over the thumbnail of any video, and the three seconds long preview clip will start playing.

5. Get Related Videos Suggestions

Suppose you just got done with viewing a fantastic video on YouTube from your smartphone and you wish to know if there is any similar stuff on YouTube. Or if you see the videos on your computer, then you can find the related videos in the Up Next corner. On smartphones and tabs, you can press on the screen when the video is running in full screen, and you will be able to see the related suggestions for videos.

Karen Minton is a Microsoft Office expert and has been working in the technical industry since 2002. As a technical expert, Karen  has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as office.com/setup.