Is YouTube one of your favorite Android apps? Thanks to these little-known settings, you'll be able to get the most out of the platform on your device. We'll explain everything.
With no fewer than 2.5 billion monthly active users, YouTube is the second most used social platform in the world, just behind a certain Facebook. If you clicked on this article, it's because you're one of them. Maybe even YouTube is one of your favorite apps on your Android smartphone.
It's not surprising in itself, 41.4 million French people use Google's service every day. To ensure that users don't go to competitors like Instagram and TikTok, the Mountain View firm tries to regularly improve the experience offered on its video platform. Some have been rather well received, like the redesigned mini-player on Android or the voting system for playlists. Conversely, some new features haven't delighted the crowds. We're thinking in particular of the latest changes made to the YouTube interface on computers.
In any case, if YouTube remains one of your favorite apps, know that it is possible to significantly improve your experience on Android. How? Thanks to these settings that are unknown to the majority of users. We'll explain everything.
Disable autoplay of videos in the feed
We'll start with one of the most annoying features of YouTube's Android app: autoplay of videos in the feed. As you may know, when you linger for a few seconds on the homepage, in your subscriptions list, or in your search results, the videos presented will automatically start playing in a thumbnail format.
This setting can be a problem for those who have spent years developing a more or less coherent YouTube algorithm. Indeed, if you're not careful and let this video preview run for a little too long, the content in question will end up appearing in your watch history! This could harm the relevance of the videos recommended by YouTube. Fortunately, the platform offers an option to disable this feature:
- On the YouTube app homepage, press the You button located at the bottom right
- Now press the gear icon at the top right to access the settings
- Go to General Settings, then In-Stream Playback
- Press Disabled
In addition to avoiding the inconveniences related to your history, disabling playback in feeds also allows you to reduce the app's mobile data consumption. Useful if you use YouTube on your 5G connection, for example.
Set a sleep time for videos
For people who have trouble falling asleep, like yours truly, YouTube can be a real goldmine. Compilations of white noise, relaxing sounds, and “Lo-Fi” music—you'll generally find what you're looking for there. Personally, the extended version of the song “Luma Pools” from the game Ori and The Will of The Wisps has become the best cure for insomnia. Like me, you may have found your favorite video to help you close your eyes. That’s great, but what would be even better is if the video stopped on its own once you fell asleep. This is possible thanks to this very simple option: set a video sleep timeout.
- Start watching the video of your choice
- Tap the gear icon in the top right
- Now, tap Sleep Timeout
You can then choose to automatically stop the video after 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, and 60 minutes, or at the end of the video. Extremely practical if you like to fall asleep with something in your ears.
Disable YouTube's avalanche of notifications
Notifications have become a real nuisance for many users today. Between games, social networks, news, or promotions, it's easy to become overwhelmed with alerts on your Android smartphone. A few weeks ago, we published an article in our columns to help you regain control over your notifications.
Unsurprisingly, YouTube is one of the worst performers in this area and doesn't hesitate to send an astronomical amount of notifications. Especially since by default, the app activates a good bunch of them:
- for your subscriptions
- for recommended videos
- for trending videos
- for activity on your channel
- for activity related to your comments
- for mentions
- if other people reuse your content
- for news on specific products
- to suggest you watch a video on your TV
- when you receive a new badge
You'll agree, that can be a lot. Fortunately, it is possible to disable all of this:
- On the YouTube app's homepage, press the You button at the bottom right
- Now press the gear icon to access Settings
- Here, look for the Notifications
- Uncheck all available options
Changing the default video quality
If you use the YouTube app often, you'll probably agree: it's starting to get tiresome having to change the quality of a video every time. Although Auto mode is enabled by default, the app clearly prefers to display the video in 480p all the time. This is a shame in 2025, when the majority of smartphones have 1080p or 1440p screens.
As a result, we regularly have to go to the settings to switch to High quality. Good news, with this option, you won't have to do that anymore:
- On the YouTube app homepage, tap the You button in the bottom right corner
- Now tap the gear icon to access Settings
- Scroll down until you come to the Video Preferences and Audio > Video Quality Preferences
- Now choose at least High Quality via Wi-Fi
Note that you can very well set High Quality by default for mobile networks, but don't forget to factor your 4G/5G bandwidth into the equation.
Customize the Playback Settings
We continue with these few options that allow you to customize the playback settings on YouTube:
- On the YouTube app's home page, press the You button at the bottom right
- Now press the gear icon to access the Settings
- In the Video and Audio Preferences section, press the Playback tab
Here, you can enable or disable automatic playback of the next video. You can also change the duration of fast forward/rewind when you double-tap the screen (from 5 to 60 seconds maximum). Finally, the last option will allow you to force zoom so that videos are always displayed in full screen.
Activate subtitles by default
Finally, we conclude with this very practical feature for those who like to watch videos in a foreign language or for people with hearing difficulties: activating subtitles by default. Here's how to take advantage of it:
- On the YouTube app's homepage, tap the You button in the bottom right
- Now tap the gear icon to access Settings
- Still in the Video and Audio Preferences section, look for the Subtitles tab
- Check the Show Subtitles button
- To go further, tap Subtitle Style and Size to change the size, color, and background of the subtitles
And there you have it, with these few settings, you should be able to significantly improve your experience on the YouTube app.
0 Comments