YouTube is reportedly testing an Incognito mode for users of its Android app, similar to the feature offered on Google Chrome.
By default, the video and streaming site tracks everything its users search for in order to suggest videos and target advertisements.
But if members don’t necessarily want the Google-owned company tracking all their moves, there may soon be a way to hide searches.
To activate it, tap the account avatar on the top right of the app. For users with the feature, ‘switch account’ and ‘sign out’ are now one option and ‘turn on Incognito’ is below it
Android Police reports that in some devices, an Incognito mode has become available.
To activate it, tap the account avatar on the top right of the app. For users with the feature, ‘switch account’ and ‘sign out’ are now one option and ‘turn on Incognito’ is below it.
Activating the feature turns off subscriptions and doesn’t save viewing data. Turning off Incognito or becoming inactive on the app switches it back to using the member’s account.
YouTube’s recommendation algorithm has landed the company in hot water in recent months.
YouTube is reportedly testing an Incognito mode for users of its Android app, similar to the feature offered on Google Chrome. The update is not yet available to all users
Last year, the algorithm was recommending ‘creepy’ videos in its YouTube Kids section and failing to filter out disturbing content.
Some of the recommendations included Peppa Pig being tortured by a dentist, one of a burning airplane from the cartoon Paw Patrol and footage explaining how to sharpen a knife.
In April YouTube announced that is overhauling its kids-focused app to give parents more control over what their children can watch.
The new features will allow parents to filter content on the app so it only displays channels that have been reviewed by humans rather than algorithms.
In March, a disturbing Peppa Pig fake, found by journalist Laura June, shows a dentist with a huge syringe pulling out the character’s teeth as she screams in distress. This image shows a Peppa Pig fake that depict the character being attacked by zombies
An update later this year will also allow parents to configure which videos and channels, specifically, can be viewed.
Both the grown-up video service and the YouTube Kids app have been criticised by child advocates for their commercialism and for the failures of a screening system that relies on artificial intelligence.
The app is engineered to automatically exclude content that’s not appropriate for kids, and recommend videos based on what children have watched before.
That hasn’t always worked to parents’ liking – especially when videos with profanity, violence or sexual themes slip through the filters.
In February, YouTube apologized after disturbing videos surfaced on its YouTube Kids app.