YouTube’s Experimental Video Feed: Personalized Recommendations Based on User-Selected Colors
YouTube is reportedly experimenting with an innovative feature on its mobile app, offering users the ability to select from three primary colors: red, green, and blue. Upon selection, the app generates a dedicated video feed where all suggested videos align with the chosen color theme. While the feature has been observed by several users, it appears to be in the testing phase and has yet to roll out widely. Interestingly, the recommended videos within the color-themed feed seemingly share no commonality beyond the predominant color featured in their thumbnails.
As detailed in a report by 9to5Google, the feature was first spotted within the YouTube mobile app. A screenshot included in the report showcases a card displayed on the home screen prompting users with the message, “Craving something new?” Beneath this prompt, three color options—red, green, and blue—are presented, each accompanied by the invitation to “Create a feed of videos based off color, and enjoy exploring.” Users across both Android and iOS platforms have reported encountering this card.
Upon selecting a color, a distinct video feed emerges, exclusively featuring recommended videos adhering to the chosen color scheme. Notably, this new feature does not replace the main home feed but instead introduces an additional feed option accessible from the list displayed at the top of the home page.
A couple of points to be noted here. First, the recommended videos have nothing in common apart from their predominant colour theme. They might be from a channel that you subscribe to or not, and they may not even be based on your watch history. Other details about the colour-coded feed are difficult to assert given we, at Gadgets 360, have not been able to verify the same.
Second, it is also difficult to say whether the colours are being picked just from the thumbnail or if the algorithm is analysing the entire video to determine the predominant colour present in the content. Colour-based recommendation is also a curious offering from YouTube, given that most users would prefer a thematic connection to the content instead. However, it could be for those who prefer a more aesthetic view of the app.
Some users on Lemmy, a social media platform, have suggested that this could be a way for YouTube to collect data, given advertisement and marketing space revolve a lot around colour theory. Certain colour schemes tend to get more engagement for the content. At the same time, it might just be a quirky feature.