YouTube has implemented a notable transformation where users who are logged out of Google accounts or utilizing Incognito mode will no longer receive video recommendations, leading to apprehensions regarding potential coercion to consistently remain signed in to access the service. This new change, currently underway, presents users with an unadorned YouTube homepage without any video suggestions or guidance on content to watch, indicating a departure from the prior behavior where even in Incognito mode or without logging in, Google would display video recommendations. Instead of the usual array of video suggestions, users now encounter a “Get Started” prompt upon opening YouTube in Incognito mode, emphasizing the need to watch videos to assist in constructing a personalized video feed, suggesting a fundamental shift in how YouTube handles video recommendations for logged-out and Incognito mode users.
Through tests conducted by BleepingComputer across various devices, it has been observed that searches on YouTube fail to yield any recommendations, consistently displaying a message prompting users to view more videos. Even users who have cleared their search and watch history or disabled their history settings while logged in report a lack of suggestions, prompting some to speculate that YouTube may be exerting pressure on users to enable their history settings. BleepingComputer’s attempts to gather more insights on this YouTube update from Google have been met with no immediate response, leaving users and experts alike curious about the motives driving this alteration and its implications on user experience and platform engagement.
