YouTube to Show Users How Long They Spend Watching Videos

YouTube is preparing to roll out a new feature that will make users acutely aware of how much time they’re spending watching video content.

The new “time watched profile,” accessible in the account menu, will display an individual user’s daily watch time, as well as:

  • Average watch time per day
  • Yesterday’s watch time
  • Watch time over the past 7 days

YouTube’s time watched profile is being introduced as part of the company’s effort toward improving the digital wellbeing of its users.

In addition to making users more aware of how much video they’re consuming, YouTube will also be introducing the following features as part of its “digital wellbeing” initiative.

  • Take a break reminder: Set a reminder to take a break while watching videos.
  • Notification digest: Group all daily push notifications into a single combined notification, delivered at the same time every day.
  • Disable notification sounds and vibrations: YouTube will send silent notifications during a specified time period.

Other than the time watched profile, these new features will be turned off by default. The features will have to be manually turned on by each individual user, if desired.

Users can expect most of these features to be available within the next few days, though the time watched profile is not said to be coming for another few months.

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