YouTube tests a new button for when you don’t want to make any decisions

YouTube’s always been a good way to waste a few minutes, and a new test is looking to make the app even better for that. As reported by 9to5Google, the YouTube Android app is showing a new button labeled “Play something,” which plays a random video based on your learned content preferences. It’s similar to an experiment from about a year ago, but the UI and functionality are a bit different.

As explained by 9to5, the new Play something button shows up in the lower right corner of the UI in YouTube’s Android app. Tapping the button will evidently start playing a random YouTube Short related to your preferences, though as 9to5 explains, after starting a Shorts video with the new button, subsequent videos won’t necessarily be Shorts. It doesn’t seem to be rolling out too widely just yet; I’m not seeing it on my own device. Screenshots shared by 9to5 are in Brazilian, so if you’re reading from Brazil, check your YouTube app.

The new button works a lot like a similar experiment from last year, which inserted a button labeled “Play something” into your home screen feed. The new version seems like a persistent fixture in the UI, rather than an element you can scroll past.

Available for some in YouTube version 19.5

9to5 says that the new button is appearing in the YouTube Android app in version 19.5. That said, I’m using that version and I don’t see the new button, so this one’s clearly not rolling out to everyone just yet. It’d make sense if it did, though; a button that plays a random video reduces the friction in opening the app and starting up some content to basically zero.

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Thanks: Moshe