YouTube users who have subscribed to many channels would know that the service allows them to receive email notifications for each new upload. While the notifications can be turned off from the notification preference settings, some may not be aware and may end up receiving a ton of emails. Now, Google has announced (spotted by 9to5Google) that it will be retiring email notifications for new video uploads starting August 13.
The changes will affect only the email notifications, with the company reiterating that new upload notifications will continue to be served via the Android and iOS mobile apps, and web notifications for those that have opted in. The reason that the firm cites for the move is that less than 0.1% of the email notifications are opened. Additionally, the search giant states that other important email communications relating to users’ accounts, mandatory service announcements, and more will not be affected.
As for impacts to engagement due to the lack of such notifications, the company says that it found no impact to consumption or “watch time” during its experiment, adding that “more people engage with mobile push notifications and their Subscriptions feed”. Those that would want to tweak their notification preferences to stop receiving emails before the slated date or who would want to look at other notification settings can head here when logged in.
While the change is minor, it will indeed help users cut down on the volume of emails if they subscribe to many channels. The video streaming platform adds that the reduced emails will help users “easily spot and pay attention to the important emails”.