YouTube has begun testing a new feature called “Your Custom Feed”, aimed at giving users more direct control over what appears on their Home feed.
If you’re part of the trial, you’ll see a small “Your Custom Feed” chip/tab next to the usual “Home” button.
Clicking it opens a prompt where you can type in what you want — for example, “more cooking tutorials”, “travel vlogs only”, or “less gaming content.”
This feature is experimental and currently only available to a limited number of users worldwide.
Why YouTube Is Trying This: Problems with the Old Model
For many users, YouTube’s algorithm-based recommendations have often missed the mark — showing irrelevant or unwanted content simply based on past, brief interactions (like a single viewed video).
Even efforts like “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel” had limited effectiveness.
With “Your Custom Feed”, YouTube is offering a more direct, user-driven model: instead of guessing, the platform asks you what you want to see.
How “Your Custom Feed” Works (If You Get the Test)
- A new “Your Custom Feed” chip shows up next to “Home” on the YouTube homepage.
- Tap it → a prompt appears. Enter what kind of content you want (or don’t want)
- YouTube then re-orders or re-filters your feed accordingly — so you see more of what you like, and less of what you don’t.
- Because this is still experimental, results may vary — and you may or may not see the feature depending on account/region.
What It Could Mean for Users and Creators
✅ For Users: More Control, Less Noise
- You get to steer your feed actively, rather than passively depending on algorithm guesses.
- Helps avoid “algorithm traps” — where watching one video pushes a flood of unwanted suggestions.
- Makes YouTube more personal and relevant to your current interests (travel, tutorials, hobbies).
📈 For Creators: Niche Gets a Chance
- Niche creators might get better visibility if users prompt for that content (e.g. cooking, science, education).
- Less dependency on viral hits: feed customization could favor content quality and relevance over trending topics.
🔄 For YouTube: Big Experiment, If It Works — A Shift in Recommendation Strategy
- This signals a broader shift from algorithm-first to user-guided content discovery.
- If successful, it might reshape how recommendations are done — more transparency, more personalization.
What’s Still Unknown — What to Watch
- We don’t know how long the test will run, or when/if it will roll out to all users.
- It’s unclear how deeply prompts affect recommendations — will it override the core algorithm entirely, or just bias it?
- Some users may not use prompts, meaning default behavior might still favour the algorithm.
- How will this affect exploring new and unexpected content (the “serendipity” effect)? Might be reduced if feeds become too curated.
What This Means for You (As a User in 2025)
If “Your Custom Feed” reaches you — you could use it to get a cleaner, more personalized YouTube experience: ask for exactly what you want (e.g. “documentaries only”, “No Shorts”, “DIY videos”).
It’s a promising move toward putting control back in users’ hands.
