In recent months, YouTube has been quietly experimenting with a feature that could drastically reshape how users interact with the platform. For a select group of Android users, an ongoing test has introduced an endless, TikTok-like scrolling experience for full-length videos—something that could change YouTube forever. Instead of the usual homepage with thumbnails and titles, this feature lets viewers swipe up, and another video automatically starts playing, endlessly, without ever needing to hit play. It’s a subtle tweak, but if it were to roll out to all users, it could mark a pivotal shift in how people discover and consume content on YouTube.
YouTube’s Shift Towards Endless Scrolling
For now, this feature is just a test, a small-scale experiment designed to explore new ways of helping viewers find content. But its existence is telling. YouTube has long struggled with balancing its core identity as a place where creators can build audiences and grow communities, while also being a massive content discovery platform. This new feature would tilt that balance further, potentially moving the focus away from creators and giving more power to YouTube’s algorithm.
The concept is simple: Instead of searching through thumbnails, titles, and video descriptions to choose something to watch, you swipe up, and YouTube decides what to show next. Think of it as a mix between YouTube’s regular long-form videos and the short, snappy content from YouTube Shorts, except the videos are full-length and not bite-sized. If you don’t like what’s playing, you simply swipe again. This approach mirrors TikTok’s infamous “endless scroll” feature, where the platform continuously feeds you new content based on what it thinks you’ll enjoy, with minimal effort required on your part.
The TikTok Effect: Is YouTube Trying to Be More Like TikTok?
There’s no question that the rise of TikTok has influenced how social media platforms are evolving. TikTok’s scrollable, autoplaying feed has become a hallmark of its success, largely because it’s so easy for users to fall into a content consumption loop. With TikTok, you don’t have to make any decisions about what to watch—you just scroll, and something new starts instantly. If you don’t like it, no problem. You scroll again. The simplicity and efficiency of this model has made it a dominant force in social media, and YouTube, always at the cutting edge of content trends, is now testing the waters of a similar feature.
The key reason why TikTok’s method works so well is that the platform prioritizes engagement over everything else. The algorithm learns from your scrolls, and your behavior determines what you see next. It’s a frictionless experience that encourages users to keep swiping, which boosts viewership numbers for creators and increases platform engagement overall. However, this approach also comes with its drawbacks. The more you let an algorithm decide what you should watch, the less control you have over your own viewing experience.
What Endless Scrolling Means for YouTube Creators
For YouTube creators, the idea of an endless, autoplaying feed is a mixed blessing. On one hand, it could be a major opportunity for discovery. YouTube’s recommendation system has long been a driving force behind video views, and this new feature could give creators a chance to reach new audiences who might never have clicked on their video in the first place. However, there’s a flip side: Creators could lose much of the control they currently have over how their content is presented and consumed. With endless scrolling, there would be no need for eye-catching thumbnails, attention-grabbing titles, or well-crafted video descriptions—all crucial elements in YouTube’s current discovery model.
Currently, YouTube creators spend considerable time crafting thumbnails and titles to get users to click on their videos. As high-profile creators like MrBeast have shared, thumbnails can be a major part of their video strategy, sometimes requiring multiple iterations before landing on the most clickable design. But with an endless feed, YouTube’s algorithm would largely decide what gets shown and when, diminishing the importance of these creative elements. Essentially, the algorithm would take over the discovery process, sidelining creators’ efforts to attract views through their own choices and creativity.
Could YouTube Become More Like TikTok?
If this test becomes a permanent feature, it would signal a dramatic shift in YouTube’s philosophy. Traditionally, YouTube has been a platform where creators build their own communities, and their success is often tied to how well they connect with their audience over time. Endless scrolling, however, would emphasize immediate, algorithm-driven recommendations, which might limit a creator’s ability to cultivate a dedicated following.
Furthermore, while YouTube has long prided itself on being a platform for diverse content—ranging from educational videos to vlogs, deep-dive documentaries, and niche hobbies—an algorithm-driven, endless-scroll model could lead to a more homogenized viewing experience. The platform might push toward creating content that fits neatly into the “bite-sized” and often sensational formats that are favored by the TikTok algorithm: quick, easily digestible, and designed to keep viewers hooked for as long as possible.
The concern here is that this shift could lead to more of the content we’ve seen dominate TikTok: viral trends, influencer-driven marketing, clickbait, and short, punchy videos designed more to drive engagement than to provide meaningful or thoughtful content. In this world, longer, more complex videos might struggle to thrive, as they’d be harder to consume in the endless scrolling feed.
Is This the Future of YouTube?
While YouTube’s endless scrolling test might not go mainstream—many such tests don’t make it past the experimental phase—it’s hard to ignore the implications it has for the future of the platform. If YouTube embraces this change, it could fundamentally alter how people watch videos, how creators make videos, and how the platform operates as a whole. The ease and simplicity of TikTok’s model could prove irresistible to YouTube’s parent company, Google, which is always looking for ways to boost user engagement.
But the question remains: Is that a future creators and viewers really want? If YouTube turns into just a longer version of TikTok, it might lose some of the magic that made it so appealing in the first place: the sense that creators, not algorithms, had the power to shape their channels and build communities.
YouTube’s core identity as a platform that values creators—giving them the freedom to build audiences and engage with their fans—may be at risk. The question of whether this test will evolve into a full-scale change remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: If the endless scroll becomes permanent, YouTube might lose something crucial in the process—its sense of community and creator control.
