In a major shakeup, YouTube has announced plans to strip the dedicated Trending tab and Trending Now list out of its video streaming platform, both on mobile and on the web. The Google-owned company says that this update will take effect “in the next couple of weeks,” without providing an exact day and date.

Citing a shift in user consumption habits, as well as a decrease in visits to the Trending page over time, YouTube intends on leveraging its Charts feature as a purpose-built alternative designed for the modern streaming age.

“…we’re making updates to better match how people discover trending content today by shifting away from one all-encompassing Trending list towards category-specific charts that we’ll continue to invest in over time,” says Google in a Community Help announcement post.

notable shows

Kitchen Nightmares, Merlin

notable movies

Clueless, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, How to Train Your Dragon, Mean Girls, Star Trek

Premium Subscription

Yes, $13.99 per month

Originals

No

Live TV

No

YouTube is one of the biggest internet video platforms of them all, with news content, viral videos, niche fandoms, and everything in between.

Say goodbye to the Trending tab

YouTube’s Trending section is on the way out

YouTube first introduced a dedicated Trending tab to its video-sharing platform back in 2015, as a means to present viral content to viewers. The section surfaces content within several different sections, including Now Trending, Music, Gaming, and Movies. Once featured prominently without the YouTube user interface via a dedicated tab, the feature has over time been obfuscated under the overarching Explore section umbrella.

The Trending section has proven somewhat controversial, with one 2019 study indicating a different set of standards applied to independent content creators when compared to major networks. Nebulous thresholds and unclear data metrics make it difficult to gauge the true popularity or virality of a given video displayed within Trending.

In any case, the online world has dramatically changed in the years since the initial introduction of Trending. Alternative video platforms — most notably TikTok — have pioneered an algorithm-first approach to the discovery and popularity of videos, and YouTube has most definitely taken notice. With the introduction of a TikTokified Shorts tabin 2021, and a doubling down on its algorithmically-curated Home page, there appears to be little room for Trending in today’s multimedia landscape.

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YouTube Charts has arrived

The Trending tab’s replacement is a work in progress

Taking over viral video duties going forward is YouTube’s Charts feature, which is currently accessible via the web (but not on mobile). Charts provides a breakdown of popular videos within the categories of Music Videos, Songs, Artists, and Short Songs — notably absent at the moment are Gaming, News, Sports, and other core topics.

Google, for its part, says it’s working on updates to bolster the scope of Charts, and it suggests visiting the Explore section for gaming content during this transitional phase. The company has confirmed that the Explore menu itself is here to stay, which is good news for anyone unenthused by today’s proliferation of personalized content feeds.

Personally, I’m rather conflicted about this particular change on the whole. While I’m relieved to hear of Explore’s continued existence, I’m unimpressed with the current state of affairs when it comes to YouTube Charts. I reckon the transition process will arrive with some self-inflicted growing pains — a pitfall that could be avoided by improving Charts prior to the dissolving of Trending as an entity.

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