YouTube Creator News: Ad Warnings, Comment Control & Returning DMs

Transcript

What’s up, everyone? Welcome back to the YouTube Creator News.

First up, an update for community control: YouTube is rolling out “Who Can Comment” settings. You can now lock comments to subscribers only and even set a minimum subscription duration. During a controversial or viral video, you can turn this on to prevent hate speech, or use it to reward loyal fans by making the comment section an exclusive perk. It brings the sub-only mode from Twitch chat directly to your VODs—use it wisely.

Next, a warning for your wallet: YouTube is updating automatic mid-roll ad settings. They say it’s to find better non-interruptive placements, and they announced this back in March. The AI might decide that fewer ads are better for the viewer, which while great for viewer experience, could lead to a drop in ad inventory on your long-form videos. So, don’t blindly trust the auto setting right now. Check your top-performing videos over the next two weeks and see if you can spot a dip in RPM—you might want to adjust manually.

Here’s a feature that feels like a blast from the past: In-app messaging is coming back to YouTube. If you’ve been on YouTube as long as I have, you might remember we had direct messages until 2019. I even made a video about their shutdown back then. Well, YouTube’s bringing them back as a new pilot test for adults 18+ in Ireland and Poland. You can share videos and chat directly in the app again, but there’s a crucial difference from standard messenger apps: messages may be reviewed to ensure they follow community guidelines. This implies automatic scanning of your private shares. Since this isn’t an end-to-end encrypted messenger but a moderated YouTube space, the same rules apply as in the comment section or anywhere else on the platform. Keep that in mind before you slide into someone’s DMs.

I want to know: Will you be using the subscriber-only comment mode, or are you afraid it will kill your engagement? Are you looking forward to using YouTube DMs? Let me know in the comments below. Let’s talk about it.

Thanks for stopping by. Take care, and I’ll see you next week with more creator updates.