YouTube is making a number of changes to its Android and iOS apps with the launch of personalized feeds, including removing subscriptions from the bottom bar.
On mobile, YouTube is “launching a series of updates to shape a smoother home experience.” It starts with a redesigned top bar with dedicated feeds.
As part of this change, YouTube is removing the Subscriptions tab from its fourth position in the bottom bar. It is now in the “Home tab top bar”. Testing of the redesign began earlier this year.
“Subs” appears second after “Home” with a red underline that will take some getting used to. This change will break a lot of muscle memory, with subscriptions appearing in the bottom bar of YouTube for almost a decade (2017).
Old versus new
Meanwhile, after subscriptions, you’ll see new feeds dedicated to Live, Music and Movies & TV, the latter only appearing if you have active subscriptions (such as Primetime channels). This change has the advantage of removing the YouTube navigation drawer.
More broadly, this change coincides with the launch of personalized feeds, also available and synchronized on the Web. This allows you to describe “what you want to see in your own words”.
Tap “+” at the top of your home feed and describe the topic, channels, or vibe you’re looking for (for example, “help me unwind after work with guided meditations under 10 minutes”). You will then get a new feed tailored to your interests that you can explore.
They will appear in the top tabs of the main feed after Home and Subscribers so “you can come back to them whenever you want.” The dialog at the top of each feed allows you to edit it.
Notably, free users “can save up to 3 active custom streams, while YouTube Premium members can save up to 8.”
The personalized streams are rolling out first to “mobile devices and desktops in English for connected viewers based in the United States.” It will be available in more countries in the future.
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