YouTube is testing a new feature designed to prevent accidental taps while videos on its app. The experimental feature called Lock Screen is available to the subscribers of YouTube Premium. It is supported on Android and iOS devices and will be available until July 30.
As the name suggests, the lock screen feature is meant to disable touch input while watching videos. This is to make sure your accidental taps on the screen don't pause, skip or disrupt the video. It was spotted by Cord Cutters News which notes that it's an invite-only feature available to select Premium users.
If you have a YouTube Premium subscription, an invite notification labeled 'Try new features' should appear at the top of the app's home page. Otherwise, you can follow these steps to enroll:
- Tap on your profile picture in the top-right corner.
- Go to Your Premium benefits.
- Tap on Try new features.
- Next, under Avoid accidental taps with Lock Screen, tap on the Try it out button.
Now, to use the feature, tap on the gear icon while playing a video in full-screen mode, then select Lock Screen. YouTube is currently offering a 1-month free trial of its premium subscription if you want to try it out.
You can also submit feedback to YouTube based on your experience with the experimental feature. For reference, a similar mode is available on the video streaming app Netflix, where can tap on the Lock option at the bottom of the video player to disable screen inputs.
Apart from that, YouTube is also testing a popup that will appear in front of users with adblockers enabled. The video-sharing platform has made it easier to monetize new channels and updated its impersonation policy which now mandates fan accounts to make it obvious that they don't represent the original creator or entity.
