YouTube is a multimedia and streaming app enabling its users to view videos and upload content. With its powerful performance and simple concept, it exploded into popularity since its launch in 2005. Google purchased it in the following year; now, it is the best-regarded, most prevalent video platform among the many similar sites on the internet.
An optimized viewing experience
Although YouTube is a platform for video sharing, the most prominent use of YouTube is for watching videos. Thus, the app itself is optimized for a comfortable viewing experience. You can watch videos on YouTube by simply clicking on them from the main screen, and they will play instantly. Most content is free, including music, except for services such as YouTube Premium and YouTube TV.
The video base consists of music, entertainment, education, and everything in between - you can find anything you find important or interesting on there. If you’re a parent, you’ll enjoy the Kids YouTube version, allowing you to restrict the content to what you’d want your child to watch.
For example, it boasts an auto-rotating feature to match video orientation to your decided shape. Both directions come with benefits, too - the landscape mode allows you to watch without distractions and with a lot of detail, while portrait lets you view comments and suggestions while listening to a video.
The video controls contain only the essential buttons as not to confuse the viewers and allow them only the necessary features. You can pause a video, go back or visit the next one, and slide through the progress bar. The app generates recommendations based on your previous viewing and the current video to direct you further.
Once you enter the portrait mode, the app enables you to scroll down while the video is still playing. Do so, and you'll access extra information, user comments, and much more. You can also see the related playlists this way.
The video keeps playing at the bottom of your screen even if you go back to the home page. That way, multitasking within the app is as smooth as it gets.
A bundle of powerful features
You can use YouTube on most available platforms. If you're accessing it through a computer, Windows or macOS, all you need to do is enter through a web browser.
You can get YouTube on Android and iOS by clicking on this website's Free Download button. Mobile devices make it easy and quick to download and install the app for free. You'll notice slight differences between the app for Android and iOS, but all the essential features are there either way.
Once you download the YouTube App to your phone, the app provides you with several viewing options to cater to your preferences. For instance, you may lower the video quality when using mobile data to prevent large expenditures. On the other hand, even 4k videos are available.
The app comes with an instant caption feature, to which users contribute or the app auto-generates them. Although these aren't always top-notch, they mean a lot for the hard of hearing.
Also embedded in the app are the download and sharing options. Both features are a click away, and sharing enables you to post a video on a social network of choice or send it directly to a contact on your smartphone.
Social media features
Apart from the community section of this app, it now features options previously exclusive to various social networks. Most prominently, you can now post Stories native to Instagram and Snapchat to your channel. These short videos tend to last up to 15 seconds and disappear after 24 hours.
Another useful thing for channels is the community section for posts. Now, they can post an image with a title to update their viewers on the progress of their content, without having to upload a whole video just for that.
Content creator's paradise
Making a name for yourself on YouTube is a matter of high-quality videos and targeting your audience. However, the platform made sure that the beginning stages are as straightforward as it gets.
Opening a channel entails several simple steps, and it's even quicker if you connect it to your Google account. When it comes to adding videos, it doesn't take long and features no learning curve.
Once you get a follower base, you can make money on YouTube either by monetizing your videos or getting various third-party companies to sponsor you. In that way, this platform is excellent for creative people looking to make a profit by displaying their various skills.
To make videos more visible, creators can add tags to videos and make them easier to find. On the other hand, they can make the content private and visible only with a permit. That way, video creators can choose whether everybody can see their video, or only the chosen few who have a link to it.
Bugs and alternatives
A significant concern of viewers and creators alike is the unreliable notification and subscription system. Apart from not receiving announcements for new videos, you can't filter your subscriptions, either.
The app keeps seeing improvements, which is, in essence, a good thing, but it means that users have to keep an eye out for the newest updates. Otherwise, your app won't function properly.
If you're seeking for alternatives, it won't be easy to find one as functional as YouTube. Many apps such as YMusic and NewPipe work as YouTube emulators, but with little separating them for the original.
If you decide to switch to an entirely new platform, Dailymotion is the most appropriate choice overall, although its interface is much less intuitive. Vevo is excellent for music lovers, while you can watch inspirational videos on Vimeo.
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