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YouTube Could Let You Play Videos on Your Homepage Soon

Full video playback could become a wider feature in the future

By Joshua Hawkins Joshua Hawkins Freelance Technology Reporter Full Sail University Josh Hawkins is a freelance writer for Lifewire who loves writing about the latest tech and gadgets that help make people’s lives easier. As an avid gamer and VR enthusiast, he also enjoys diving deep into the technology that helps bring those kinds of experiences to life. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 23, 2021 07:15AM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Streaming Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming YouTube appears to be testing a new feature on its homepage, allowing for full video playback with some limited controls. Twitter user @iamstake was the first to notice the change on the YouTube homepage. According to 9To5Google, the move now allows some users to watch videos from the homepage without having to click through to them. Additionally, there also are some limited controls for audio, closed caption, and the ability to scrub the video progress bar. Nawfel Mechekef / Unsplash It is unclear if the progress made in a video will be retained once you scroll past it, as we haven’t had a chance to test the feature ourselves (it appears to be rolling out to a limited number of users). However, multiple YouTubers have reported being able to control the sound and scroll through the video to the points they want to see. The current autoplay feature always restarts videos when you scroll past them and then back up, so it is possible that this could still be the case with this first iteration of the feature. Being able to watch videos directly from your homepage will be a useful change. If you are not sure the video interests you, you always can scrub through it to see if anything else catches your eye. YouTube hasn’t made any official announcements about this feature, and 9To5Google says it could just be an A/B test to see how users like the new feature. If it is not generally well received, it is possible YouTube could ditch it and remain with the standard autoplay format, making it entirely possible you never receive this update. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Google Adds 10 New Features to Messages, Including Reminders Support and More How to Play YouTube Videos on Alexa Devices Chrome Not Playing Video? How to Fix The 10 Best Ways to Watch Movies With Friends Online How to Add Subtitles to YouTube How to Watch Movies on YouTube How to Fix It When Facebook Videos Aren't Playing How to Post a YouTube Video on Instagram How to Clear a YouTube Queue With Chromecast on Android What to Do When iPad Won't Play Videos How to Download YouTube Videos on a Mac How to Use VLC to Watch Almost Any Video on Apple TV How to Turn off Closed Captions on Discovery Plus How to Change Your Homepage in Safari How to Set up the Amazon Echo Show How to Download YouTube Videos on Your Android Device Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies