YouTube is rolling out a new feature with a hide button that lets viewers remove distracting end screens at the end of videos.
These end screens are often used by YouTube creators to suggest other videos, encourage subscriptions or direct viewers to external links.
While they can help promote content, many viewers have long found them intrusive since they cover part of the video and take away from the final message.
With the new option, viewers will see a small hide button in the top right corner of the video player. Tapping it will remove all end screen elements, leaving only the video itself visible.
If a viewer changes their mind, a show button will appear, allowing the end screens to return. The feature applies only to the current video being watched, which means the preference will reset when moving on to another video.
At the same time, YouTube is adjusting the desktop experience by removing the subscribe button that appears when hovering over a channel watermark in the corner of videos.
This change is meant to simplify the interface and reduce unnecessary clutter while still leaving viewers with other clear ways to subscribe.
YouTube says the updates were driven by feedback from viewers who wanted more control over what appears on their screens. Early tests suggest the changes will have very little impact on creators.
According to the company, hiding end screens reduced interactions on YouTube by less than 1.5% during trials. Likewise, the hover-to-subscribe button accounted for fewer than 0.05% of total subscriptions.
These figures indicate that the overall influence on channel growth will be minimal, even as viewers gain a smoother experience.
