YouTube 'like' and 'subscribe' buttons get animated

A screengrab from a YouTube video by Benoftheweek showing the new subscribe animation. The video is paused on an indistinct image of a wooden floor, and some blurry trainers and legs. The subscribe button has just been clicked and has turned a shade of gold, with purple, pink and white exploding stars emanating from it. Ben's video has 3m views, he has 6.74m subscribers, and this video has 106K likes.YouTube

The new subscribe button has "playful sparkles" that appear when you click it

"Thanks for watching! Don't forget to like and subscribe."

YouTubers urging fans to click the thumbs-up button is almost a cliche by now, and the website's unofficial slogan is about to get an update.

The site's adding animations that flash up when a content creator says the words "like" and "subscribe" in a video.

And when you "smash that button", according to Google, you'll be rewarded with a shower of "playful sparkles".

If you think that sounds like a feature that people might overuse, you're not alone.

YouTube told tech website The Verge the animations could only be triggered three times each per video, and with at least three minutes between them.

The animations, spotted by some users as part of a test last month, were officially announced with other features that had been rumoured or previewed.

Whether they'll all be a hit with users remains to be seen, but they include:

  • More animations: New video uploads also get a live view and like count update for the first 24 hours

  • Rotating comments: Top comments under each video will automatically rotate

  • 2x playback: Similar to TikTok, holding your thumb down on a video accelerates its speed slightly

  • Name that tune: Got an earworm? Root it out by "playing, singing or humming" it to activate an AI-powered search

  • Stable volume: A feature to reduce "jarring differences in volume" between videos. Similar to "normalisation" options present on audio streaming apps for years

The full list has been published in a YouTube blog post.

Social media sites announce new features all the time, and YouTube is facing fierce competition from TikTok.

YouTube introduced Shorts - vertical videos that resembled TikTok content, in 2021.

In return the Chinese-owned video app previously extended its maximum video length, and has been boosting topics like gaming, which YouTube currently dominates.

YouTube said all its new features were "shaped by the feedback we received from our viewers and creators".

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