YouTube has announced a host of new features for Shorts that will roll out over the coming days and weeks. Leading the update is a new distraction-free viewing mode that expands videos to fill the entire screen.
It’s called Clear Screen mode and enabling it will temporarily hide all on-screen text, buttons, and other UI elements for a distraction-free viewing experience.
YouTube Shorts is also gaining a new 2x playback option, allowing users to watch videos at twice the speed.
To make interactions feel more personal, YouTube is replacing the thumbs-up button with a heart icon.
Muting a video is now easier as well. Users can simply pause a Short by tapping the screen and then tap the new mute button to silence the audio.
Finally, the platform is removing the dislike button in favor of more useful feedback options, including “Not interested” and “Don’t recommend this channel.”