YouTube's Removing the Option to Hide Subscriber Counts, Adding Improved Auto Moderation Tools
-
Loading... - Bailey Egger
- 01 Jul 2022
- 133 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
YouTube has announced some new updates designed to further limit spam and misuse, including the removal of the option to hide channel subscriber counts, and a new increased strictness setting within its auto-moderation tools.
First off, on subscriber counts – right now, YouTube channels can choose not to display their subscriber count, which some users may prefer if they feel that it could turn away viewers or reduce credibility.
But YouTube has found that this option is also often used by channels impersonating platform stars.
As per YouTube:
“While we’re aware that some creators find this feature valuable, as YouTube grows, we found it is often used to impersonate channels. Bad actors often lure people to their channel page by impersonating other creators in comments. And now, channels will no longer be able to hide their subscriber pens on YouTube.”
So it’s not on the channels themselves that this is necessarily a problem, but if a user is impersonating a famous YouTuber in the comments, and they hide their subscriber count, that can make it harder for regular users to know whether this is the real person making a comment or not.
So now, these scammers will have fewer options to obscure their identity, as users will be able to see, straight away, that it clearly isn’t PewDiePie making a comment, as he has more than nine subscribers.
It’s a good update, and while some users would prefer not to have their subscriber count displayed, it seems like a small trade-off for increased transparency and security in the app.
But if you’ve been telling people that you have more subscribers than you do, maybe it’s time to shut down your YouTube account. Just claim that you were banned for your controversial opinions or something.
YouTube says that the update will go into effect by the end of July.
On another front, YouTube’s also giving channel managers more capacity to filter out junk comments, by updating the ‘strictness’ of the auto-moderation tool for their channel. Read More...
