“Punishment” or new opportunities? YouTube will show a blank homepage to users who have turned off their browsing history

YouTube users who choose to turn off their browsing history will soon see a completely different home page: the page will be almost empty, and there will no longer be recommended videos on it.

According to the administration of the service, on the main page of the site there will be only a search bar, as well as links to the sections Shorts, "Subscriptions" and "Library". This initiative was described by Google as a "new browsing experience".

The platform administration added that this innovation will be implemented gradually over the coming months. Some users have already noticed the changes, others will see them after August 9th. Instead of the usual feed of recommended videos, a notification will appear on the page that says: “Your browsing history has been disabled. You can change your settings at any time to get the latest videos recommended to you."

Can a blank homepage be considered a "punishment" for turning off your browsing history? Or will it open up new opportunities for users?

Google representatives explained that these interface changes will help users better understand what YouTube features are based on their browsing history. Such an innovation will also be useful for those who prefer to search for videos on their own and do not want to be based on the recommendations of the platform's algorithms.