WebProNews

Tag: YouTube

  • Android 2.3.7 and Older Versions in the Cold

    Android 2.3.7 and Older Versions in the Cold

    Google is cutting off Android 2.3.7 and older from logging in, leaving the aging versions of the mobile OS in the cold.

    Android is currently on the 11th major version, with versions 2.3 released over a decade ago. Nonetheless, some users are still running the ancient version of the OS.

    Google is warning that it will soon block Android 2.3.7 and older from logging into Google services, effective September 27.

    As part of our ongoing efforts to keep our users safe, Google will no longer allow sign-in on Android devices that run Android 2.3.7 or lower starting September 27, 2021. If you sign into your device after September 27, you may get username or password errors when you try to use Google products and services like Gmail, YouTube, and Maps. 

    If your device has the ability to update to a newer Android version (3.0+), we advise you to do so in order to maintain access to Google apps and services on that device.

    While no on likes being left behind, Google has certainly supported the older OS far more than what would be considered a reasonable amount of time.

  • YouTube Unveils Super Thanks So Fans Can Support Favorite Channels

    YouTube Unveils Super Thanks So Fans Can Support Favorite Channels

    YouTube has unveiled a new feature, Super Thanks, as a way for fans to support their favorite channels and content creators.

    Like other social media platforms, YouTube is looking for ways to keep content creators happy and loyal to the platform. Its latest endeavor is Super Thanks, a new way for fans to support creators.

    “For creators, building a business isn’t a one-size-fit-all approach,” writes Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer. “Some may gravitate towards tools like channel memberships while others may double down on Super Chat. At YouTube, we’re always looking for fresh ways creators can diversify their revenue streams. That’s why I’m excited to unveil our fourth Paid Digital Good — Super Thanks. This new feature gives creators yet another way to earn money while also allowing them to strengthen relationships with viewers.”

    The feature appears to already be gaining fans, with some streamers seeing the feature accounting for nearly 15% of their revenue.

    The feature is currently in beta but, with today’s announcement, is now available to thousands of creators.

  • GoDaddy Online Shops Now Integrate Across Google

    GoDaddy Online Shops Now Integrate Across Google

    GoDaddy online shops will now be able to integrate their products and inventory across Google.

    GoDaddy is a popular web hosting option used by many small and medium-sized businesses. Google has been teaming up with e-commerce platforms in an effort to better integrate their inventory and products across the search giant’s properties.

    “Starting today, we welcome GoDaddy online store customers to more easily integrate their product inventory across Google at no additional cost,” writes Matt Madrigal, VP/GM of Merchant Shopping. “This means that GoDaddy merchants can now get discovered across Search, Shopping, Image Search and YouTube in just a few clicks. With this integration, GoDaddy merchants can upload their products to Google, create free listings and ad campaigns and review performance metrics — all without leaving GoDaddy’s Online Store.”

    The move is good news for small shops, and should help them gain even more visibility. Especially as small companies have increasingly turned to e-commerce to survive the pandemic, the arrangement should help them make the transition even more successful.

  • Google Drive and YouTube Links Impacted by Google Security Changes

    Google Drive and YouTube Links Impacted by Google Security Changes

    A Google security update is about to impact Google Drive and YouTube public links, including Unlisted ones.

    Google Drive and YouTube both use links to share files and videos. In the case of YouTube, Unlisted videos are publicly available, but not indexed by the platform’s search. As a result, a link is needed to access the video.

    Google has been working to improve the security of its sharing links, and the improved security will lead to some of those old links breaking. The company highlighted the changes to Google Drive on its Google Workspace blog.

    This security update is being applied to some files in Google Drive to make sharing links more secure. The update will add a resource key to sharing links. Once the update has been applied to a file, users who haven’t viewed the file before will have to use a URL containing the resource key to gain access, and those who have viewed the file before or have direct access will not need the resource key to access the file.

    Admins can use Google’s Help Center to learn more about the update, its impacts and how to manage it across an organization.

    Similarly, YouTube outlined how Unlisted video links will be impacted.

    As part of these changes, Unlisted videos uploaded before 2017 will be made Private starting on July 23, 2021. We are also giving creators the option to opt out of this security update and keep their videos in their current state if they prefer. If you have a video that is impacted by this change, we’ll notify you directly.

    Users will have the option of opting out, using this form, by July 23, 2021. Alternatively, users can re-upload their video as Unlisted, switch them to Public or simply let them go Private when the change takes place.

  • YouTube Wins Major EU Copyright Ruling

    YouTube Wins Major EU Copyright Ruling

    YouTube has won a major copyright ruling in the EU, one that will have far-reaching impacts on internet platforms.

    The issue revolved around whether YouTube and other internet platforms are legally responsible when their users post copyright content. The EU has been working on copyright reform and Article 17, specifically, would have required online platforms to proactively block copyrighted content.

    The European Court of Justice’s latest ruling, however, keeps things largely the same, with platforms not responsible for what their users post…with one caveat. Platforms will need to promptly remove copyrighted content and block it once it becomes aware of it.

    “As currently stands, operators of online platforms do not, in principle, themselves make a communication to the public of copyright-protected content illegally posted online by users of those platforms,” the EU Court of Justice said, according to Variety.

  • Google Makes it Easier for SMBs to Launch YouTube Ad Campaigns

    Google Makes it Easier for SMBs to Launch YouTube Ad Campaigns

    Google is making it easier for SMBs to launch YouTube ad campaigns in its first-ever YouTube Small Biz Day.

    According to Google, 72% of small businesses in the US rely on YouTube to boost their online presence. Unfortunately, SMBs did have to fully wade into Google’s ad platform to launch a YouTube campaign, something that smaller businesses may not have had the time or experience to tackle. With the new approach, things are greatly simplified.

    We’re also committed to making it easier for small businesses to use video to reach their customers. Last year we introduced Video Builder, a free tool that allows small businesses to quickly set up a video ad using just two images and a logo. Today we’re introducing a faster, easier way to create video ad campaigns on YouTube. Just add the video ad, the audiences you want to reach and your budget to launch a campaign in minutes. And with the new mobile experience, you can now more easily measure campaign performance. Access the new experience today at youtube.com/ads.

    The move should be a big help for SMBs, especially during a time when an online presence is more important than ever.

  • Streaming TV Only 26% of Market But Growing Fast

    Streaming TV Only 26% of Market But Growing Fast

    Streaming TV may be constantly in the news, with a new service seemingly cropping up every week, but it still comprises a minority of the market.

    Netflix, HBO Max, YouTube, Hulu and others are growing in popularity, but they still don’t match more traditional TV options. According to CNN, the latest Nielsen data shows the streaming market accounts for a mere 26% of the American TV market.

    In contrast, traditional broadcast TV accounts for 25% of the market, while cable TV still accounts for 39%. An additional 9% is covered by “other,” including VOD and DVD players.

    Another significant difference between traditional and streaming TV is the engagement of the viewers. According to Nielsen’s data, streaming subscribers tend to be active viewers, intentionally seeking out and watching specific programs. In contrast, broadcast viewers are often more passive, leaving the TV on in the background or casually channel surfing.

    No one knows how long it will take for streaming TV to overtake traditional options, but the degree of subscriber engagement is a promising sign for the future of the market.

  • YouTube Shorts $100 Million Fund Aims to Take on TikTok

    YouTube Shorts $100 Million Fund Aims to Take on TikTok

    YouTube has established a $100 million fund in an effort to attract creators to its YouTube Shorts TikTok competitor.

    TikTok has taken the social media world by storm, attracting content creators and users alike. During the pandemic, the platform was the clear winner among social media companies, and did especially well attracting the most valuable demographics. As a result, virtually every major competitor has been working to come out with features to better compete with TikTok.

    YouTube Shorts is YouTube’s answer, and the company is willing to spend big bucks to attract content, unveiling the YouTube Shorts Fund. The $100 million fund will be distributed over 2021 and 2022.

    We’re introducing the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100M fund distributed over the course of 2021-2022. Anyone is eligible to participate in the fund simply by creating unique Shorts that delight the YouTube community.

    Each month, we’ll reach out to thousands of creators whose Shorts received the most engagement and views to reward them for their contributions. We’ll also ask these creators to share their feedback with us so we can continue to improve the product experience.

    Only time will tell if YouTube and other platforms can crack TikTok’s winning formula, but the YouTube Shorts Fund is certainly a step in the right direction.

  • Mobile App Usage Up 30%, Hits 4.2 Hours Per Day

    Mobile App Usage Up 30%, Hits 4.2 Hours Per Day

    A new report shows how much mobile app usage has grown during the pandemic, reaching 4.2 hours per day, a 30% increase over 2019.

    As people have been staying at home and engaging in remote work, digital services and entertainment have experienced meteoric growth. A new study by App Annie shows just how much that usage has exploded.

    According to the report, in Q1 2021, “the global average time spent was 4.2 hours a day, up 30% compared to two years prior.” Some countries passed the five hour mark, namely Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea. Meanwhile, India saw the biggest growth, with consumers spending “80% more time in apps in Q1 2021 than they did in Q1 2019.”

    There were interesting variations in the popularity of apps, specific to certain markets. While Facebook, TikTok and YouTube were some of the usual favorites, Signal and Telegram were very popular in Western Markets. In other markets, investment apps were among the favorites, including crypto trading apps such as Coinbase and Upbit.

    The full report is well-worth a read, and shows the ongoing transformative effect the pandemic is having on the mobile industry.

  • Twitter Testing In-Line YouTube Viewing

    Twitter Testing In-Line YouTube Viewing

    Twitter is testing a new feature that will let users watch YouTube videos in-line, without leaving the Twitter conversation.

    Traditionally, clicking on a YouTube link in Twitter took a user to the YouTube video, leaving the Twitter thread behind. With Twitter’s new feature, users will be able to watch the video without leaving the thread.

    The feature obviously has value to Twitter, as it keeps users from leaving, but it’s also a nice feature for Twitter users as well.

  • YouTube Can Now Check For Copyright Issues During Upload

    YouTube Can Now Check For Copyright Issues During Upload

    YouTube is rolling out a major new feature designed to protect content creators, warning them of potential copyright issues during upload.

    Called “Checks,” the new tools is designed to save creators some headache and potential lost revenue by warning them of copyright issues before they go live with content. Many creators had previously resorted to uploading their videos as unlisted or private to check for copyright or monetization issues before going public.

    The company made the announcement in a YouTube Help post:

    Hey Creators! Today we’re rolling out a new step in the upload process on Studio desktop called “Checks” – which will automatically screen your uploads for potential copyright claims and ad suitability restrictions. This new step will help you minimize the number of videos uploaded with copyright claims and/or yellow icons and avoid surprises or worries.

    More information can be found in the Help Center. In the meantime, the new Studio tool should be a big help to content creators.

  • Google Updates iOS YouTube App…Finally

    Google Updates iOS YouTube App…Finally

    Google has updated the first of its major iOS apps, after months of letting them languish.

    Google’s major iOS apps have gone months without an update, even causing Google’s own servers to flag them as out-of-date and recommend users upgrade. Many have speculated the company was worried about Apple’s new privacy labels, a new feature of the App Store that requires companies disclose what data they collect and use to track users.

    At long last, Google has begun rolling out updates, with YouTube the first in line. Not surprisingly, the app’s privacy label outlines a rather lengthy list of data linked to the user and used for tracking.

    iOS YouTube Privacy Label
    iOS YouTube Privacy Label

    At least Google is actively updating its iOS apps and providing users with clear information and choice regarding their privacy.

  • Vimeo Raises $300 Million In Equity, Valued At $5.7 Billion

    Vimeo Raises $300 Million In Equity, Valued At $5.7 Billion

    Vimeo has raised $300 million in equity, raising its valuation to some $5.7 billion as it prepares to become independent.

    IAC announced in December its plans to spin Vimeo off as an independent, publicly traded company. As a video hosting platform, and YouTube’s prime competitor, Vimeo has experienced significant growth. In fact, the company saw 57% year-over-year revenue growth in December.

    As Vimeo prepares to go public, the new funding will provide the capital it needs to continue its growth and innovation.

    “As the world embraces video like never before, Vimeo is in an incredibly strong position to help more businesses take advantage of this powerful medium,” said Anjali Sud, CEO, Vimeo. “We have built an industry-leading solution that the market needs, and we intend to move swiftly to bring our professional-quality tools to millions more users.”

    “Vimeo is the quintessential IAC success story,” said Joey Levin, CEO, IAC. “With patience, discipline, and ambition, Vimeo has transformed from a tiny seed to a large global enterprise making its mark on the world, and Anjali Sud is an exceptional leader.”

  • YouTube Runs Ads On Creators’ Videos Without Paying Them

    YouTube Runs Ads On Creators’ Videos Without Paying Them

    Starting Wednesday, YouTube began running ads on some content creators’ videos without sharing the revenue those ads bring in.

    Traditionally, YouTube shares ad revenue with content creators in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). In order to qualify to be in the YPP, a creator must have more than 1,000 subscribers and have accrued 4,000 viewing hours over the previous 12 months. It was relatively rare or specific circumstances that would cause creators not in the YPP to have ads play on their videos.

    It appears YouTube is expanding those circumstances, however, with plans to monetize videos from creators that don’t qualify to be part of the YPP. The change was outlined in an update to the YouTube Terms of Service:

    Right to Monetize
    You grant to YouTube the right to monetize your Content on the Service (and such monetization may include displaying ads on or within Content or charging users a fee for access). This Agreement does not entitle you to any payments. Starting November 18, 2020, any payments you may be entitled to receive from YouTube under any other agreement between you and YouTube (including for example payments ​under the YouTube Partner Program, Channel memberships or Super Chat) will be treated as royalties. If required by law, Google will withhold taxes from such payments.

    The company clarified its new Right to Monetize clause:

    We added this new section to let you know that, starting today we’ll begin slowly rolling out ads on a limited number of videos from channels not in YPP. This means as a creator that’s not in YPP, you may see ads on some of your videos. Since you’re not currently in YPP, you won’t receive a share of the revenue from these ads, though you’ll still have the opportunity to apply for YPP as you normally would once you meet the eligibility requirements. You can always check your progress toward eligibility on the monetization tab in YouTube Studio.

    It’s safe to say this will probably not be a welcome change. Many content creators will likely take issue with YouTube making money off of their hard work—before they’re able to reap any benefits themselves.

  • YouTube.com Restores iOS Picture-in-Picture Compatibility

    YouTube.com Restores iOS Picture-in-Picture Compatibility

    YouTube.com has restored iOS picture-in-picture (PiP) functionality after disabling it in September.

    iOS provides the ability to watch video in a mini-window while working in other apps. While this feature has been available on iPads for some time, iOS 14 finally brought the feature to iPhones.

    As MacRumors reports, Google appears to have restricted the feature to Premium YouTube subscribers in September. While Google appears to have reversed the decision, it only applies to watching YouTube via Safari on iOS 14. The YouTube app does not support PiP, nor has it ever supported it.

    MacRumors makes the point that there is no way to know if this reversal is permanent, as Google has not made any announcements either way. In the short term, at least, iOS users will be able to enjoy some video-watching multitasking.

  • Google Sued For $3 Billion in the UK Over YouTube Privacy

    Google Sued For $3 Billion in the UK Over YouTube Privacy

    Google is being sued for $3 billion in the UK over allegations that YouTube tracks children, violating the UK’s privacy laws.

    Google has been facing ongoing scrutiny over privacy and antitrust concerns, but this latest lawsuit could be one of its most expensive. The lawsuit was brought by Duncan McCann, a father of three. The lawsuit is supported by Foxglove, a tech advocacy group in the UK.

    The lawsuit alleges that YouTube and Google are ignoring UK privacy laws designed to protect children. Instead, according to the lawsuit, YouTube is harvesting data from children watching videos and using that data to target the children with ads specifically designed to influence young minds.

    “We think its unlawful because YouTube processes the data of every child who uses the service – including kids under 13,” writes Foxglove. “They profit from this data, as they are paid by advertisers to place targeted advertising on their YouTube website. They do all this without getting explicit consent from the children’s parents. Under the GDPR and UK law, corporations can’t process the data of kids under 13 *at all* without explicit parental consent. Parents haven’t agreed to the many ways YouTube takes kids’ data.”

    The lawsuit comes as Google is facing other lawsuits claiming it continues to track users even after they opt out. Should McCann win his case, the repercussions for Google and YouTube would be profound.

  • UK and Australia Open Joint Investigation Into Clearview AI

    UK and Australia Open Joint Investigation Into Clearview AI

    The UK and Australia have announced a joint investigation into Clearview AI—to cheers of privacy advocates the world over.

    Clearview quickly made a name for itself as a facial recognition firm that had scraped billions of images from millions of websites. Ignoring platform policies and user agreements, Clearview even scraped images from the top social media companies, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

    Things only got worse from there, as the company was found to be monitoring police searches to discourage them from talking to journalists. Despite repeatedly insisting it only sold its software to law enforcement and security personnel, information came to light showing the company had allowed investors and friends to access and use the platform as their own plaything. To top it off, Clearview began selling its software to authoritarian regimes.

    It seems the UK and Australia have had enough, as “the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have opened a joint investigation into the personal information handling practices of Clearview AI Inc., focusing on the company’s use of ‘scraped’ data and biometrics of individuals.”

    This is further bad news for the company, but great news for the average consumer and privacy advocate alike.

  • Senator Hawley Questions Google CEO Over China Censorship

    Senator Hawley Questions Google CEO Over China Censorship

    YouTube is in hot water over claims it engaged in censorship on behalf of the Chinese government.

    In a letter to Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Senator Josh Hawley asked for an explanation about the alleged censorship. YouTube has explained the censorship occurred as a result of an error in its enforcement system, but has provided very little information beyond that. Understandably, the explanation is doing little to ease people’s concerns.

    In his letter to Pichai, Hawley says “that Google engineers may have changed the algorithms on YouTube to automatically censor certain criticisms of the Chinese Communist Party. In particular, Google engineers appear to have altered YouTube code to automatically block the Chinese terms for “communist bandit” and “50-cent party”—the latter term referring to a division of the Chinese Communist Party whose purpose is deflecting criticism from the Party by using sockpuppet accounts to spread online propaganda. These reports follow in the wake of Google’s purported ‘mis’-translation last year of the phrase ‘I am sad to see Hong Kong become part of China’ to ‘I am happy to see Hong Kong become part of China.’”

    Senator Hawley gave Pichai till June 12 to respond. It remains to be seen if Google will provide concrete information on the issue.

  • Apple AirPower May See the Light of Day After All

    Apple AirPower May See the Light of Day After All

    Apple may still release its AirPower wireless charging mat that was cancelled roughly a year ago.

    Apple first announced the AirPower mat in September 2017, promising it would be released by the end of 2018. By March of 2019, AirPower was still a no-show and the company finally called it off, saying it would not release the product.

    According to a tweet by Jon Prosser, founder of the YouTube channel Front Page Tech, Apple is still working on AirPower and has been trying to solve some of the issues that caused the company to initially cancel the project.

    AirPower isn’t dead

    The project is back on, internally. No guarantee that they’ll finalize and release it, but they haven’t given up yet and they’re trying to re-engineer the coils to displace heat more effectively. Prototyping is underway.

    — Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) 3/22/20

    MacRumors reported that noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said the company would release a “smaller wireless charging mat” in the first half of 2020. He did not say whether the new mat was the AirPower, or some other project Apple is working on. Either way, it seems that Apple users may be able to buy a wireless charger of some kind from Apple in the near future, rather than relying on third-party solutions.

  • Coronavirus: Google Will Show Businesses That Are Temporarily Closed

    Coronavirus: Google Will Show Businesses That Are Temporarily Closed

    As more restaurants, bars and businesses close in an attempt to blunt the spread of the coronavirus, Google Search and Maps will inform users.

    In a blog post on the company’s site, CEO Sundar Pichai outlined the various steps the company is taking to help fight the spread of the pandemic, including “promoting the ‘Do the Five’ campaign to raise awareness of simple measures people can take to slow the spread of the disease, according to the WHO.”

    Google is also working hard to fight misinformation regarding the pandemic. A big part of that has been removing videos that are dangerous or misleading from YouTube, as well as taking down false information, fake reviews and misleading information on Google Maps.

    The company is also working to help businesses inform customers via Search and Maps when they are temporarily closed as a result of the virus.

    “Based on data from governments and other authoritative sources, Google Search and Maps will now display if a place, like a school or local business, is temporarily closed,” continues Pichai. “In the coming days, we’ll make it possible for businesses to easily mark themselves as ‘temporarily closed’ using Google My Business. We’re also using our artificial intelligence (AI) technology Duplex where possible to contact businesses to confirm their updated business hours, so we can reflect them accurately when people are looking on Search and Maps.”

    These are welcome steps the search giant is taking to help individuals and businesses alike in the face of the pandemic.

  • Coronavirus: YouTube Turns to AI to Address Shortage of Human Moderators

    Coronavirus: YouTube Turns to AI to Address Shortage of Human Moderators

    YouTube is warning that some users’ videos may be improperly flagged due to the company relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to moderate videos.

    With more and more employees working from home during the coronavirus pandemic, YouTube is turning to AI and machine learning (ML) to make up for the shortage of human moderators. Unfortunately, AI and ML doesn’t always get it right and YouTube is warning that—in an attempt to keep violative content in check—some videos may be removed without actually violating policies.

    “Our Community Guidelines enforcement today is based on a combination of people and technology: Machine learning helps detect potentially harmful content and then sends it to human reviewers for assessment,” the blog post reads. “As a result of the new measures we’re taking, we will temporarily start relying more on technology to help with some of the work normally done by reviewers. This means automated systems will start removing some content without human review, so we can continue to act quickly to remove violative content and protect our ecosystem, while we have workplace protections in place.”

    Recognizing the potential inconvenience the situation will cause, YouTube will not be quick to issue “strikes” for removed content, and recommends users appeal any decision they believe was made in error.

    “As we do this, users and creators may see increased video removals, including some videos that may not violate policies. We won’t issue strikes on this content except in cases where we have high confidence that it’s violative. If creators think that their content was removed in error, they can appeal the decision and our teams will take a look. However, note that our workforce precautions will also result in delayed appeal reviews. We’ll also be more cautious about what content gets promoted, including livestreams. In some cases, unreviewed content may not be available via search, on the homepage, or in recommendations.”

    This is just another example of the pandemic’s far-reaching effects, as well as the increasing role AI and ML can play in a variety of situations.