For some time now, YouTube has been testing new features, like adding Shorts to Smart Downloads, to improve the user and creator experience. The company recently announced a “Hype” feature has been rolled out in select geographies. As a result of the feature, which is currently available in Brazil, Taiwan, and Turkey, “smaller creators can receive support from the community as well as be discovered by new audiences.”
The “Hype” option is similar to the “Like” and “Share” buttons. But only channels with under 500,000 followers can use it for now. Fans can only Hype videos posted within the last 7 days. Videos with lots of Hypes will show up on the “Explore” page to reach more people. However, Hypes won’t affect the main rankings or what YouTube recommends to other users.
YouTube hasn’t shared all the details yet. Like whether Hypes will cost money or just work for YouTube Premium members. They also haven’t said if it will expand to other countries soon. YouTube wants feedback on Hypes first before changing anything. Fingers crossed, YouTube decides to bring Hypes to more places after seeing how it goes.
