If you’ve been reading NewForTech for a while, you know I’ve written before about how great YouTube Premium is. This will probably be the last digital subscription I leave, which includes Netflix, Google Cloud Storage, etc. I get it for £12.99 per month ($13.99 US, AU$16.99 AU).
I won’t go into detail about the benefits of YouTube Premium, but it changes your viewing experience because you don’t have to constantly watch ads. Sign up for a free trial or test the service for a month and you’ll see what I mean. It’s very annoying to have to go back to the ad-supported level.
It also has a number of additional bonuses, including the ability to download videos to your device for offline viewing and play them in the background on your mobile phone (so you can listen to the videos even while using other apps). YouTube Music Premium is also included, so you don’t need a separate subscription to stream music.
But that doesn’t mean YouTube Premium is perfect, and it isn’t. We have had many requests to add features to make the service more attractive and attract more customers. If anyone on the YouTube team is reading this, please note the following:
1. True Incognito Mode
Using browser-wide incognito mode is a very convenient way to watch videos without leaving any trace on your watch history or recommendations, but if you’re a YouTube Premium subscriber, you’ll notice a problem. The ad will appear again. This also applies to the optional incognito mode built into Android and iOS apps.
If you pay for YouTube Premium, you may not want to see ads in Incognito mode, but subscribers should be able to access the feature on desktop and mobile devices. This way, you can listen to relaxing lo-fi tunes in the background all day without having to watch a ton of related videos in recommendations while you work.
2. View more detailed statistics
I love statistics in all its forms. YouTube Recap was first introduced this year, and it’s certainly an interesting look at what you’ve seen on the platform over the past 12 months. It’s available to everyone, whether they’re a premium subscriber or not, and makes it quick and easy to rank the most watched channels and video types.
There are many more things to see. What time of day do you watch videos the most? What is the average rating for videos that cause people to stop watching? How many videos have you watched at 1.5x speed this year? I would also like to improve the analysis of videos. For example, when and how many times did you last watch a video?
3. Convert YouTube to Plex
Maybe I’m just greedy, but I would like YouTube Premium subscribers to be able to add their own videos and stream them to any device on the Internet. This makes YouTube work like Plex or Jellyfin. The ability to import local files is already available on music services like Spotify and YouTube Music.
YouTube can already do this to some extent. Download feature is available on all devices. But I think Plex-style features would be more useful, like easier rating and sorting of videos, and better content tagging (essentially the same capabilities you get when you purchase movies and shows digitally through YouTube).
4. Easy cutting and sharing tools
People love sharing clips online, and tools like Netflix Moments make it easier than ever. So why don’t we improve the trimming and sharing tools for YouTube Premium subscribers? You want to be able to cut snippets from podcasts, movies, shows, and other types of videos and instantly share them on YouTube and connected social media accounts.
How about being able to highlight your favorite parts of a particular movie or show, turn them into short YouTube videos, and add some comments on top? Of course, users are already doing this on YouTube and social networks. However, this currently requires many third-party tools and a significant amount of time and effort.
5. Additional Video Settings
Lots of YouTube related content. browser extension What we see online is proof of how much users want the look and feel of YouTube. This is another area where I think there is room for improvement in the virtual experience. YouTube itself needs to integrate more of these settings.
For example, browser extensions allow you to view more detailed statistics about video quality, customize the behavior of the video loop, and change other elements displayed around the video, such as recommendations. There are plenty of options here, including background brightness controls, blue light filters, built-in scripts, keyboard shortcuts, and more.
What other features would you like to see added to YouTube Premium? Let us know in the comments below.
