[Poll Results Live][Opinion] Hey YouTube, please stop recommending videos I have already watched

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 26, 2021) follows:

YouTube is the most viewed video sharing platform today. With billions of videos to choose from, YouTube has implemented a recommendations system to help with finding more content that you’ll like based on factors like your watch/search history and channel subscriptions.

What this implies is that the content YouTube recommends to you will be something you most probably like. And for the most part, this works like magic hence the platform’s dominance over the competition.

It’s worth noting that YouTube’s intention is to keep you on the platform for as long as possible. The more you watch the more ad money they make.

Perhaps this partly explains the various levels of video recommendations aimed to keep your eyes glued on YouTube for as long as possible without breaking a sweat.

You’ll find a mix of your interests on the homepage and more suggestions under ‘Next’ button when playing a video. This eliminates the need to manually dig through multiple videos to find something good to watch.

However, the algorithm used to generate recommendations on YouTube isn’t always perfect. Sometimes YouTube recommendations can include suggestions you may not like.

In such cases, a quick dislike will ensure the video and others related to it don’t show up in your recommendations. Too bad other regular viewers won’t be able to see your dislike count.

I watch plenty of YouTube and I have more than several dozens channel subscriptions. Given my diverse content consumption, I sure don’t think YouTube can be short of video suggestions that I may like.

For the most part this works fine, however, one annoying thing I’ve had to deal with for years is YouTube recommending videos I have already watched. Not once, not even twice. But on multiple occasions.

Unfortunately, YouTube viewers have no control over how often a video can show up in their recommendations, which is my major gripe with the otherwise great video sharing platform.

With the billions of videos on the platform, YouTube recommending a video I’ve watched on various separate occasions is the last thing I’d expect. But this has become staple for not just me, but plenty of others too.

We have previously documented this plight that has been ongoing for several years yet Google doesn’t seem to be doing much about it. Reports from those affected are still coming in.

Google says YouTube may take some time to learn your habits before eventually recommending videos of your interest. Having used YouTube for about a decade with the same Google account, the platform surely knows a great deal about me.

Others have done all their best to train the AI algorithm to suit their interests but still get disappointed. Which begs the question, is YouTube’s recommendations system at fault? And if yes, what is Google doing about it?

You probably wouldn’t be far off if you gave a “yes” to the former, but the latter is only known to Google. Having been around for years, though, one wonders whether YouTube is ignoring the issue or they just haven’t figured how to address it.

While Google can train its algorithm to automatically skip already watched videos, I’d want to see a toggle to enable or disable the AI’s ability to recommend already watched videos added to the app’s settings.

This way, viewers can decide whether they want already watched videos to appear among their recommendations or not. But hey, we don’t make the decisions here, YouTube (Google) does. And I hope this gets to the right people for consideration.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in your comments below. You’re also welcome to cast a vote on the Twitter poll below, with the results to be announced after a week.

The poll results are now out. It looks like everyone who voted wants YouTube to add a toggle to enable/disable recommending already watched videos.

In case you missed the poll, make sure to share your thoughts in the comments down below.

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