It is a truth universally acknowledged, that in any given boring moment, a mobile user can be sucked into the YouTube blackhole. And while it is true that for the average person, watching endless clips of funny cats, toppling dominoes, or Rube Goldberg machines is nothing to be ashamed of, other people may not be too proud of their viewing history. And for sure, nobody wants to have their YouTube home page bombarded with more weird Russian dance videos after accidentally viewing a Dance of the Babushka clip.
Fortunately, there is talk that the YouTube mobile app is experimenting with the idea of integrating an incognito mode for its users, at least according to a report recently published by Android Police. The feature should work exactly like most other web browser incognito modes -- basically not saving one’s viewing history. This feature should be useful in a lot of ways -- for one, it prevents YouTube from suggesting clips or recommending ads based on what you have just viewed.
It needs to be said that although using the incognito mode will mean that YouTube will not be monitoring your viewing history, the user’s service provider (or worse, his boss) might be able to still see what has been viewed on the screen. YouTube actually already comes with a Pause Watch History feature, which kind of works the same. But in more ways than one, having a simple to use incognito mode is much more direct and quick.
Meanwhile, a report by 9to5Google says that the YouTube TV app now offers a new Voice Remote feature. As suggested by its name, the feature allows users to verbally request for any video content they want to watch. But interested parties better hold their horses -- the functionality is made available only on smartphone devices for now, and not (or not yet anyway) on Android TVs, Rokus, or other YouTube TV compatible bigscreen devices. Also, it appears that the Voice Remote feature is only for users who have a subscription for YouTube TV streaming (priced at $40 per month), and already own a handset that lets them search by typing.
According to yet another report by Android Police, the Voice Remote feature is displayed as a floating action button in the YouTube TV app. After activating that button, users should be able to issue commands like “Play NBC” or “go back to the previous YouTube channel” and even manage volume settings verbally.
