YOUTUBE SHORTS GETS 2X SPEED, CLEAR MODE & HEART BUTTON

YouTube is overhauling Shorts with a batch of changes that steadily close the feature gap with TikTok. The platform is removing the dislike button, replacing it with a heart emoji, and adding a clear screen mode, 2x playback speed, and a mute button. The features roll out over the next few weeks.

The moves effectively acknowledge that the short-form video war is won or lost on UX, not just raw view counts. YouTube Shorts now averages 200 billion daily views, according to CEO Neal Mohan, but the platform still trails TikTok in cultural mindshare. These updates borrow directly from the competition.

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The thumbs-down button is gone from Shorts. Users who want to express approval will instead tap a heart icon, the same symbol TikTok uses. For negative feedback, YouTube offers the and functions, which feed the algorithm but don't give creators a direct signal the way a dislike count did.

The new 2x speed option works by holding down the edge of the screen to speed up the video, then lifting the finger to return to normal. Users can also lock the speed at 2x by pressing the player and swiping down. YouTube says the feature helps users "absorb information more quickly or find your favourite part faster,". The mode temporarily hides "all icons and text from your playback view" from the playback view, showing only the video itself. TikTok has had a nearly identical clear mode for years, and the implementation here looks the same. The mute button is similarly straightforward: tap the video and select a mute icon to kill the audio without pausing.

The changes make Shorts feel more like TikTok by design. TikTok already uses a heart button for likes, offers video speed controls, has a clear mode, and includes a mute option. YouTube is standardising on the same interaction patterns, betting that familiarity will keep users on its platform rather than switching. The strategy is not new: YouTube has been iterating on Shorts since launching the format in 2020.

WHAT IS GAINED, WHAT IS LOST

At 200 billion daily views, Shorts is a huge business by any measure. But YouTube counts a view as the very first moment a video is opened, a looser definition than some competitors use, which inflates the number. A separate report earlier this year showed that Shorts consumption on TV screens reached 2 billion hours per month, suggesting the format is expanding beyond mobile. The clear screen mode and speed controls are as much for TV viewing as for mobile: on a big screen, overlays and buttons are more intrusive, and the option to remove them cleanly matters.

Removing the dislike button eliminates a channel of direct feedback. The and functions provide granularity but not the simple negative signal that a thumbs-down gave. For creators, the shift means they lose one more data point about what their audience doesn't want. The mute button and speed control, meanwhile, give viewers more agency over how they consume Shorts. That is generally good for engagement, since a user who can speed through a video they are not fully interested in may stay in the feed longer than someone who swipes away. The clear screen mode solves a specific annoyance: watching a vertical video while on a cluttered interface with icons, titles, and comment previews.

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WHAT COMES NEXT

The rollout over the next few weeks will hit all users, but it is worth watching whether the dislike removal creates blowback. For now, Shorts looks more like TikTok than ever, and that is exactly what YouTube wants. The question is whether copying the buttons will also copy the cultural pull.