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‘Eliminating recommendations, it will now exclusively feature the search bar and left-side menu options.’
YouTube Implements Changes to Home Page for Users with Disabled Watch History
YouTube has announced a modification to its home page functionality for users who have disabled their watch history. As of today, individuals with their viewing history turned off and “no significant prior watch history” will no longer see the video service’s home feed. Instead, they will be presented with a more streamlined browsing experience, consisting solely of the search bar and guide menu.
In a recent blog post, the company stated, “Starting today, if you have YouTube watch history off and have no significant prior watch history, features that require watch history to provide video recommendations will be disabled — like your YouTube home feed.” Consequently, users can anticipate a visually different home feed, offering only the search bar and the left-hand guide menu, without any recommended video feed. This change aims to facilitate easier searching, browsing of subscribed channels, and exploration of Topic tabs.
YouTube emphasizes that the changes will be introduced gradually over the next few months. The company characterizes this adjustment as a means to clarify which YouTube features depend on watch history for video recommendations and to streamline the experience for users who prefer searching rather than relying on recommendations.
Once the change is implemented on an account, users will have the flexibility to switch views by adjusting their watch history settings. This toggle can be found in a dedicated section on the My Google Activity settings page.