If you’re tired of seeing shorts appearing at the top of your YouTube search results, the app’s new filter will help.
On Thursday, YouTube said it was adding a shorts filter under the category menu. This will allow users to remove short vertical videos from the results page and get traditional long form videos faster.
YouTube’s current search results page shows you a mix of both shorts and long-form videos. It can be annoying when you’re looking for detailed videos for a question, but you have to swipe past a pool of clips to get there.
Notably, this change comes after a recent report by video editing firm Kapong revealed that more than 21 percent of YouTube shorts are a-fill. The report also stated that about 33% of the shorts sampled were “frivolous, low-quality video content that has the effect of impairing the viewer’s mental or intellectual state during viewing.”
The platform hasn’t said when the new shorts filter will be available, but language on the support page suggests it could be out soon.
Along with the new filter, YouTube is renaming some of its search options. The setting menu will be changed to “Preferences”, while the view count setting option will be renamed “Popularity”. With the latter, YouTube will no longer only sort videos by views and will instead consider other indicators, such as watch time.
Recommended by our editors
The company is also removing two options: upload date – last hour and sort by rating.
YouTube said all of these features were being modified because “they were not working as expected and contributed to user complaints.”
Get our best stories!
Your daily dose of our top tech news
By clicking Sign Up, you confirm that you are 16+ years of age and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your membership has been confirmed. Watch your inbox!
About our expert
Experience
Jibeen is a tech news writer based in Ahmedabad, India. Previously, he served as the editor of the iGex blog and is a self-proclaimed tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex information for a wider audience.
Read full bio
