YouTube Tricks

If like everyone else you spend alot of time on Youtube then you need to learn these youtube tricks to enhance your viewing experience. The tips and tricks we talk about in this article are applicable to both, the Youtube website and its Android app.

These tricks include hidden gestures you might not have come across before. You will also learn about ways that you can set some sensible limits on how much time you’re spending. These handy tricks and tweaks will help you get more out of the video streaming platform.

So What are the YouTube Tricks?

Go Incognito

YouTube on mobile has an incognito mode that you can enable by tapping your profile picture (top right) on the main Home screen, and then choosing Turn on Incognito.

When in icognito Your viewing history won’t be stored. And the videos you watch won’t interfere with your recommendations. Tap the incognito button (top right) to turn it off again. There’s no similar option on the web interface, but you can just use a browser window in incognito mode for the same job.

Check the Transcripts

Almost all the videos come with auto-captioning processing and you can find these on the web by clicking the three dots underneath a clip and then Opening the transcript. And for almost all occasions the transcribing is very accurate, and it comes with timestamps attached to make it easier to navigate.

There are a couple of reasons you might want to bring up a video transcription: You could, for example, use it to find a particular point in a video without having to scroll along the timeline. The transcript can also be helpful when you can’t listen to the audio of a clip.

Watching Across Devices

YouTube syncs your viewed videos across devices as long as you’re signed in, but if you start watching something on Android or iOS and then switch over to the website.

You should notice a small mini-player show up in the corner of the screen. This will show the video you were watching on your phone, so you can pick up where you left off.

View Your Stats

YouTube knows how long you’re spending watching videos on your devices. From the Home tab inside the mobile app, tap your avatar (top right) then pick Time watched. There you’ll see how much time you’ve been spending watching YouTube over the last seven days, on any device.

This allows you to monitor your watching routine for yourself or someone you love such as your kids.

Navigate With Gestures

These simple gestures can really help you jump around YouTube videos on a smartphone or tablet. Tap with one finger and hold on to the video as it’s playing. And you can then — with your finger still pressed down on the screen — swipe left or right over the clip to quickly scrub through the video’s timeline.

The second gesture needs two fingers. Tap two fingers on the left-hand side or the right-hand side of the video as it’s playing. And the clip will skip forwards or backward 10 seconds. If there are chapters embedded into the video, then the same gesture will jump forwards or backward through the chapters instead, making navigation a lot easier.

Leave a Comment