YouTube starts autoplay feature on the app’s homepage

YouTube has made an announcement that the latest app update will now autoplay videos by default, a significant feature which is already being implemented by a lot of other video streaming apps. When users are browsing the app’s home page, known as the “Home” tab, the videos will be playing by default but it will not be sound enabled.

Although “Autoplay on Home” is enabled by default, this feature can be controlled by users in the settings tab.  The app will let users control their experience either by turning off autoplay entirely or they can have it enabled only when the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.

This isn’t a completely new feature for YouTube users. It is being used by theYouTube Premium members on Android; Premium is the paid subscription by YouTube. The premium members can enjoy the uninterrupted watching experience as it removes ads. Apart from that, it provides other benefits like downloads for offline content, access to YouTube Music and YouTube Originals etc.

The autoplay won’t be seen immediately as it is a staged rollout. As per the company’s information, it will take a few more weeks for the feature to launch.

The feature is being included to the app because it increases users’ engagement time on the app. The company has noted that with the launch of autoplay, the caption would gain more importance.