YouTube adds feature to resume playing partially-watched videos on web
What's the story
YouTube is rolling out a new feature that will allow desktop users to resume videos they could not finish watching on their smartphones. Such videos will appear in the YouTube mini-player on the web. Users will see a "Continue watching" message under the video title. Notably, the mini-player appears in the bottom right corner when YouTube is launched on the web. Here's more.
Background
No 'Continue watching' option on YouTube mobile apps
The new feature will work in only one direction as there's no "Continue watching" in mini-players on YouTube mobile apps. The platform released the mini-player to all desktop users in 2018 for simultaneously watching videos while browsing through YouTube. Along with the Floating Video feature for watching videos outside the browser while doing other work, the way we use YouTube on PCs has changed.
Know-how
Sync YouTube account history to quickly reach half-finished videos
For the "Continue watching" feature to work, the YouTube account history must be synced. So, the login to YouTube on the desktop and the smartphone has to be from the same Google account. This feature, undoubtedly, quickens the process of reaching partially-watched videos. Earlier, users had to search for such videos in the History section or add them to the Watch Later section.
Drawbacks
Mini-player feature can't be disabled, raises privacy concerns
Some YouTube users, on Twitter and Reddit, had earlier reported the mini-player on web feature as unnecessary and annoying, saying they don't want to resume videos they already dismissed. Currently, there's no way to disable the feature. The mini-player, however, can be dismissed, every time it pops up. The feature also raised privacy concerns since a desktop is not as private as a smartphone.
What else
YouTube working on another feature for downloading videos on desktop
In other news, YouTube is also testing ways for desktop users to download videos for watching later, even in the absence of an internet connection. These tests involve some YouTube Premium subscribers in India and France, among other places, as per reports. But for now, most YouTube users can download content for offline viewing on their mobile devices only.