Why is YouTube not Showing Recommended Videos? How to Disable YouTube Watch History?

Why is YouTube Not Showing Recommended Videos?

YouTube's homepage usually shows video recommendations when you visit, especially if you’re logged in. If you’re not signed in or have no watch history, the homepage now appears empty with a message saying, "Try searching to get started." YouTube does this to encourage users to watch a few videos so it can start suggesting content based on what you like.

This new change means if your watch history is off, YouTube won’t show personalized recommendations. Instead, you’ll see only the search bar and menu on the homepage. This helps users who prefer to search for content themselves rather than browse recommended videos. (Source: Android Police, NDTV Profit)

YouTube Tested Disabling Recommendations for Some Users

The new change on YouTube's homepage might be a good move for many users. Before, the homepage often showed popular videos that might not match what you wanted to watch. Now, users can find recommendations in the Explore section, including Trending, if they want to discover new content.

Earlier, YouTube stopped showing recommendations to signed-in users with their watch history turned off but later fixed this mistake. Now, signed-in users with their watch history off still get recommendations. For users not signed in and without a watch history, the lack of recommendations might have been the plan all along.

How to Disable YouTube Watch History?

To turn off your YouTube watch history, follow these simple steps:

• Sign in to your Google account that you use for YouTube.
• Go to My Activity.
• Scroll down until you find 'YouTube History.'
• Click on 'Turn off.'

This will stop YouTube from tracking what you watch and change the video recommendations you see.

Features

• Video Uploading: Users can upload and share their own videos.
• Playlists: Create and organize videos into playlists.
• Live Streaming: Broadcast live video to viewers in real-time.
• Subscriptions: Follow channels to get updates on new videos.
• Comments: Leave comments on videos and reply to others.
• Likes and Dislikes: Rate videos with thumbs up or thumbs down.
• Notifications: Get alerts about new content from subscribed channels.
• Watch Later: Save videos to watch at a later time.
• Captions: View subtitles in different languages for videos.
• Playback Speed: Adjust the speed of video playback.

YouTube

YouTube is a popular video-sharing website owned by Google, started on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is based in San Bruno, California, and is the second most visited site in the world after Google Search. By January 2024, YouTube had over 2.7 billion users who watch more than a billion hours of video daily.