YouTube has replaced TV for many people when it comes to background noise, so if you're a regular video-watcher then you must consider these 5 game-changing features that will completely transform your in-app experience.
When you're not endlessly scrolling on TikTok or tapping through your entire following list's Instagram stories, there's a good chance that you've got YouTube open on your phone.
You could be checking out bizarre simulations, fascinating challenge videos, or even your favorite podcast - but there are a number of settings that you could change that'll drastically enhance your overall experience, and all it takes is a couple of seconds for each one, as shared by Android Authority.
Changing default video quality
First you'll want to press the 'You' button in the bottom right, and then the cog icon in the top right of the screen to send you to the Settings menu.
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From there, scroll down to 'Video quality preferences' and you'll be given a number of different options.
If you've not played around with anything yet then both Mobile Network and Wi-Fi options will be set to 'Auto', but you're best bet is actually changing it over to 'Higher picture quality' - at least on Wi-Fi.
Unfortunately this does still only cap it out at 720p, but it's at least HD compared to the blurry 420p mess that Auto typically serves up, and if you're only watching in the background then this can often be enough to get by with.
Setting sleep timers
This allows you to set a threshold for when the video turns off, saving you the hassle of problems down the line.
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You need to do this on a video-by-video basis, so when you've chosen your designated background noise you'll want to tap the video and then press the cog icon in the top right.
From there, you'll be able to see the 'Sleep timer' setting, and pressing it will give you a number of options from 10 minutes to an hour, or simply the end of the video.
Turning off autoplay
Unless you simply want noise to play in the background, having autoplay enabled is bound to drive you up the wall.
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To turn this off, head into the Settings menu once again and navigate to the 'General' tab. From there, select 'Playback in feeds' and set it to 'Off'. This means that you'll never be bothered by autoplay again, letting you properly curate what you're watching and what YouTube then recommends to you off the back of that.
Playback control options
There are also a couple of handy options that can help enhance your experience when watching videos, and these are found in the 'Playback' section of the Settings menu - the same place that you found the aforementioned autoplay options.
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First up is the ability to customize how far double tapping either side of the screen skips forward or back the video. By default this is set to 10 seconds, but you can change it anywhere between 5 and 60 seconds, which can be incredibly helpful depending on what type of content you watch.
Next, you can also set it so that the video always zooms to fill your entire phone screen. By default, most videos are displayed in 16:9 aspect ratio, whereas phones tend to be wider, with iPhones in particular being 19.5:9. Zooming the video in to fit your screen means that you won't have any black bars at the sides, but it does also cut off the edges which can be annoying in certain situations.
Finally, one setting that's fantastic if you have YouTube Premium is the ability to automatically enable picture-in-picture when you exit the app. This creates a small movable window that continues video playback even when you exit the app, so you don't need to stop watching to reply to a message or scroll through social media.
Adjusting notifications
Finally, one of the most important parts of the YouTube experience on Android and iOS is how the app informs you of new videos, either from your favorite creators or ones that you might like.
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You can opt to turn these on or off in your phone's central notification settings, but within the YouTube app you're given far greater control over the type of notifications that you're fed.
For example, you can set it so that you're notified every time a channel you're subscribed to uploads, or for videos that you might like based on your current viewing habits and interests.
These can also be set to arrive on your phone at 7 PM every day as a sort of digest for you to work though, and there are additionally a handful of helpful notifications for creators themselves to choose from.