It appears that YouTube is testing a new feature that would add one more option for viewers to promote or boost their favorite content creator's videos on the platform. Currently, YouTube offers features such as Comments, Like, and Share options for viewers to show their appreciation for the video.
Now, YouTube has officially announced that it is testing a new "Hype" feature that will help creators receive support from their viewers and also become more discoverable by new audiences. YouTube equates the Hype feature to the already available, Like and Share features.
However, according to the official announcement, YouTube notes that "Hypes are not used as an indicator for YouTube's search and discovery system." Moreover, viewers can Hype a video only when it has been published in the last seven days.
Additionally, YouTube is testing the Hype feature with a limited subset of YouTube Partner Program content creators with fewer than 500,000 subscribers. YouTube highlights that the Hype feature is especially meant for smaller creators to receive support from their community and get discovered by new audiences, thereby increasing their reach.
The hyped videos would appear in the Explore section of YouTube, separating them from the Trending section. YouTube is currently testing the Hype feature in Brazil, Taiwan, and Turkey. However, there is no clarity if the Hype feature is a paid function, like Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks.
YouTube notes that it will continue to collect feedback from the users of the Hype feature and understand how the feature can be made available to more users in the future. Recently, YouTube expanded the Stable Volume feature to Android TVs and Google TVs.
The Stable Volume feature, which was introduced almost a year ago, balances the volume range between quiet and loud, continuously adjusting the variations in the volume for a video that is currently playing on YouTube.
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