Skip to content
General

YouTube’s latest experiment adds Shorts to Smart Downloads

By Wei Zhang
2 min read
Youtube stream
Youtube stream
In this article (5)

YouTube Premium users are now able to automatically download recommended Shorts for offline viewing through a limited-time experiment. The feature, called “Smart Downloads” has been around for some time for regular long-form videos. Now, it is also available for Shorts.

The feature is currently being tested with YouTube Premium users and allows them to download recommended Shorts to their devices automatically. Users can enable the feature by going to the Your Premium benefits section in the YouTube app and selecting the Try experimental new features option. Once enabled, the feature will automatically download recommended Shorts based on the user’s recent viewing history.

It’s important to note that currently you can only have one YouTube Experiment active at a time. For example, I currently have the YouTube Redesigned Watch Page experiment active until July 8th, which means that me signing up to try out the new Smart Downloads for Shorts would automatically remove me from the other experiment.

This new feature appears to have been available to some users as early as April, but it has now been rolled out to a wider audience. YouTube Premium members can try out the feature until July 15.

Smart Downloads has been available for regular YouTube videos for some time, and it allows users to automatically download recommended videos for offline viewing. The feature is designed to help users save data and watch videos when they don’t have an internet connection.

YouTube is constantly experimenting with new features and ways to improve the user experience. Smart Downloads for Shorts is just one of the many new features that the company is testing, and whether it becomes a permanent feature or not likely depends on user feedback. This means that if you are interested in having a feature like this available for Shorts, make sure to sign up for it to make it known to the powers that it’s worth keeping.

Questions & Answers

Q.

Which YouTube users are able to try out the new Smart Downloads feature for Shorts?

A.

The Smart Downloads feature for Shorts is currently being tested with YouTube Premium users. They can access it by enabling experimental features within their Premium benefits section of the app.

Q.

When can YouTube Premium members try out the Smart Downloads for Shorts feature until?

A.

YouTube Premium members can try out the Smart Downloads feature for Shorts until July 15. The feature was rolled out to a wider audience recently, though some users had it from April.

Q.

How does signing up for the Smart Downloads for Shorts experiment affect other YouTube experiments a user might be in?

A.

Users can only have one YouTube Experiment active at a time. Activating Smart Downloads for Shorts will automatically remove a user from any other experiment they might currently be participating in.

Q.

What is the primary purpose of the Smart Downloads feature for users?

A.

The Smart Downloads feature is designed to help users save data and allow them to watch recommended videos when they do not have an internet connection, by automatically downloading them.

Reader pulse

Is offline Shorts a smart move?

15,794 votes so far

Weekly Briefing

Asia's retail intelligence, in your inbox

Monday, Wednesday and a Friday Weekly Wrap: the retail stories, numbers and moves that mattered across Asia. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe in one click.

  • Top industry moves and market shifts
  • Weekly data-driven analysis from across Asia
  • Monday, Wednesday and the Friday Weekly Wrap

Read by retail operators, investors and brand teams across Asia.

Protected by a quick human check. No spam, ever. Unsubscribe in one click.

SecureGDPR ready