YouTube has start testing a timed reactions feature on its mobile apps. You can react to specific moments in a video with eight emojis. YouTube is currently testing the feature as an experiment, which suggests that the feature could undergo changes during development based on user feedback.
YouTube disable dislike counts for videos and has since testing other ways to interact with content, including SoundCloud-like timed comments on videos.
By the announcement on the YouTube support website, YouTube reveale that it was rolling out a new timed reactions experiment to users, after receiving positive feedback about its timed comments beta feature.
You will be able to react to messages with eight emojis at exact moments in a video, and the reactions will appear stack at specific points on the video’s progress bar.
YouTube says that reactions will be anonymise and the platform will not show who sent each reaction.
YouTube says that the new timed reactions experiment will be pilot with a small number of channels to begin.
As YouTube is yet to reveal the list of channels or videos that are part of the experiment.
When you are watching a video that is part of the experiment, they will be able to react to a specific moment in the video by opening the comment section and tapping on the reaction panel.
Navigating to this section will also show users crowd reactions.
The announcement shows timed reactions in action on the YouTube app on a smartphone, and the YouTube has not specified whether the experiment will be available on the desktop website.
YouTube timed reactions service says that it will test ‘multiple sets’ of reactions, while adding or removing reactions base on user feedback.
This service is working on ways to improve interactions on the video sharing platform, including the controversial removal of public dislike counts on videos in November 2021, and the testing of the timed comments beta feature that allows users to leave comments at specific video timestamps on videos.
There is currently no word on whether the new timed reactions experiment will eventually roll out to all users, and it could undergo many changes during development, or be scrap in favour of another way to interact with videos when the YouTube completes testing the feature.
