Only paid YouTube users will be able to test the video-streaming platform’s experimental features, report says. The Google-owned company earlier allowed its beta features to be used by a select group of both regular and premium users.
The company tested features like Explore tab, the new mobile comment section, and video chapters with these chosen people before rolling out to the rest of the users.
But now, users can join these experiments only with a premium account. YouTube will prompt them to sign in with a Premium account, Android Central reported.
"For a limited time, Premium members can try out new features that we're working on. Share your feedback to help us build a better YouTube," according to YouTube's experimental page.
YouTube Premium is a monthly subscription that streams ad-free videos. It also enables users to download videos, background play, and YouTube Music Premium.
Google has not clarified why YouTube is choosing to limit these experiments to its Premium members.
According to Android Police , YouTube has taken this route because it might have identified Premium subscribers as its most engaged users, and the ones most likely to give feedback.
It is also possible that placing more features in YouTube Premium might attract more users to sign up to the paid service.
There are three experimental features live right now, including the ability to voice search for videos in Chrome, watch videos on the home screen on iOS 14, and filter topics on the home screen in 3 new languages: Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
