YouTube tests feature that introduces context “notes” into videos

Alphabet’s YouTube announced this Monday (17) that it will allow users to add “notes” that will provide context about some of its videos as part of the coming soon. The tests are part of a new feature that will initially be launched in the United States.

The platform will invite some users and creators, as part of the initial testing phase, to write notes designed to provide “relevant, timely, and easy-to-understand context” about the videos.

Notes, for example, could clarify when a song is a parody, point out when a new version of a product being reviewed is available, or inform viewers when old images are misrepresented as current events.

The social network X, formerly Twitter, has a similar feature called Community Notes, which allows selected contributors to add context to posts, including tags such as “misleading” and “out of context”.

The notes feature on YouTube will initially be available on mobile devices for users in the US and English. At this stage, external evaluators will rate the usefulness of the ratings, which will help train the systems ahead of a possible wider rollout, YouTube said.

Viewers in the US will begin seeing notes on videos in the coming weeks and months.

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*Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru