YouTube Tests Subscription Sorting, Improved Upload Flow for ‘Members Only’ Shorts

YouTube’s looking to help users more easily find the latest content of most relevance to them, while it’s also making it easier for creators to publish Members-Only Shorts, as an added incentive.

First off, YouTube’s testing a new “Most Relevant” display within the “Subscriptions” tab, in order to help users find the latest updates from the channels they’re most interested in.

As you can see in these example screens, the new “Most Relevant” feed is algorithmically sorted, based on a range of engagement factors, to display the channels that you engage with most, which could help those who are subscribed to a lot of creators in the app.

As explained by YouTube:

“We’re testing an optional “Most Relevant” view for your Subscriptions feed so that you can easily find the stuff you’re most likely to want to see. If you’re in the experiment, simply select the chip or avatar that says “Most Relevant” and your feed will update to show you content from Subscriptions you watch most often or you’ve interacted with recently.”

YouTube says that the sorting here is based on a number of factors, including how frequently and/or recently you’ve interacted with content from the channels that you subscribe to.

YouTube also notes that this is an optional setting, and that users who are not interested in the updated format are able to stick with their regular Subscriptions feed display, which will remain in place by default if they choose.

It could be a handy way to highlight more relevant content, again, if you subscribe to a heap of channels. But overall, it seems like a fairly minor update.

YouTube says that the experiment is being rolled out to a small percentage of viewers on mobile, and future expansion of the display will be based on feedback.

YouTube’s also looking to make it easier to upload “Members-Only” Shorts, by adding this into the Shorts upload flow.

Up till now, creators could only convert an existing Shorts clip to members-only, but now, this will be built into the Shorts upload process, under the “Visibility” listing. Adding this into the upload process will also ensure that members get a notification whenever you upload a members-only clip.

YouTube added Members-Only Shorts last month, providing another incentive for subscribers in the app, and the improved upload process will make this a more viable, valuable consideration, which could help to generate more interest in your channel.

You can get more info on YouTube’s latest updates here.