Start using YouTube in a healthier way
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Update your subscription/notification settings here
Unfollow channels that are not a good use of your time, and enable the bell, to alert you to videos from your favorite channels.
Why
YouTube’s recommendation system is optimized for engagement; it wants to maximize the time you spend on the platform, rather than choosing content that aligns with your interests on a particular day. Although it does not allow you to customize your recommendations, you can manage your subscriptions to be alerted to content from your favorite channels. Don't forget to put on the bell on your favorite channels. If not, YouTube might decide not to recommend them to you.
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Pause Your YouTube History and Control Your Privacy here.
This YouTube setting is available on your Google account.
Why
This general Google dashboard displays all the data that Google has on you. In this dashboard, we recommend that you pause your YouTube history. By doing so, the YouTube recommendations that you are shown will be based more on your subscriptions, and less on your watch history. YouTube will therefore show you more content that you really want to see, rather than content that simply keeps you on the platform longest, watching ads.
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Turn autoplay off & on as shown here:
When one video comes to an end, this will prevent YouTube’s watch next recommendation from playing automatically.
Why
Particularly if you are coming to YouTube with a purpose in mind, or if you frequently find yourself watching content you did not mean to watch: turn off autoplay. This can easily be enabled again.
