For years, many YouTube viewers have shared the same frustration: just as a video reaches its conclusion, pop-up recommendations flood the screen, obscuring the final moments. Now, that experience is about to change. YouTube will now give users the ability to hide end-screen overlays, a small but long-requested tweak that shifts more control back to the audience. The new feature adds a âHideâ button to the upper right corner of the video player, allowing viewers to dismiss end screens that often obscure closing scenes or final remarks. If a user changes their mind, the pop-ups can be restored with a âShowâ button. However, the adjustment applies only to the video currently being watched. It does not disable end screens across the platform, meaning users must repeat the action for each new video.
End screens have long been a staple of YouTubeâs ecosystem, serving as promotional slots where creators link to other videos, encourage subscriptions, or direct traffic toward merchandise. But their intrusiveness has been a persistent complaint among viewers. In some cases, the overlays cover critical visual elements, undercutting the impact of a videoâs ending.
YouTube reveals the change will not upend creator performance. During internal testing, the company found that enabling viewers to dismiss end screens led to less than a 1.5% decline in click-throughs, a margin it characterized as negligible. For creators, the ability to add end screens remains intact, but the balance has shifted slightly in favor of user control. For both creators and viewers, the update marks a subtle improvement in how content is experienced. Viewers gain more agency over how they engage with videos, ensuring that emotional payoffs, cinematic endings, or key final remarks are not obscured by intrusive prompts. For creators, the shift may seem like a potential drawback at firstâsince end screens are a key driver of click-throughs and subscriptionsâbut in practice, the outcome could be more positive. A less cluttered viewing experience can foster greater goodwill, increase trust, and encourage audiences to return, ultimately benefiting long-term engagement.
The company is also removing the âhover-to-subscribeâ option tied to branded watermarks on desktop. Previously, when users hovered over a creatorâs watermark logo, a subscribe button would appear. YouTubeâs own data, however, suggests the feature contributed almost nothing to overall subscription growth (fewer than 0.05% of new channel subscriptions came from this pathway). With a dedicated Subscribe button already visible beneath every video, the extra layer was largely redundant. According to YouTube, both changes were driven by direct user feedback. Viewers consistently requested ways to minimize visual clutter and distractions, particularly in situations where the overlays disrupted the storytelling or obscured the final shot.
The move marks a broader trend in digital media: platforms are increasingly pressured to balance monetization and creator tools with the need for cleaner, more user-centric experiences. For years, YouTube has leaned heavily on features that keep audiences within its ecosystemârecommendations, autoplay, and end screens all encourage continuous viewing. However, the company has also faced criticism for prioritizing growth metrics over user satisfaction. This adjustment also comes as competition in online video intensifies. TikTok, Metaâs Instagram Reels, and other short-form video platforms have accustomed audiences to cleaner, faster viewing experiences, with fewer overlays and interruptions. YouTube remains dominant, with more than 2.7 billion monthly active users.
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