YouTube's format shift

YouTube is reshaping Shorts on two fronts at once: users can now largely hide the feed, while creators are being pushed into more places. (9to5google.com) A new “Shorts feed limit” includes a zero-minute option that removes Shorts from the YouTube home page after the limit is reached. YouTube told The Verge the setting is already live for all parents and is rolling out to everyone else, though Shorts can still appear in Subscriptions and as individual videos. (9to5google.com) (support.google.com) At the same time, YouTube is testing creator Posts inside the Shorts feed. The experiment, reported April 15 by 9to5Google, lets image posts and carousels appear alongside Shorts on the mobile app, with up to 10 images, text overlays, and music from the YouTube Audio Library or Dream Track in eligible markets. (9to5google.com) That means YouTube is treating Shorts less like a single video format and more like a discovery surface. A user who wants less short-form scrolling now gets a stronger brake, while a creator can have photos, carousels, videos, and live streams meet viewers in the same vertical feed. (9to5google.com 1) (9to5google.com 2) The live piece pushes that logic further. Neal Mohan said on April 13 that YouTube is rolling out simultaneous horizontal and vertical live streams, with one broadcast configured in Live Control Room and shown in both traditional viewing and Shorts. (reddeperiodistas.com) According to that report, chat and Gifts will be unified across both versions, and YouTube will use artificial intelligence to crop and frame hosts automatically for the vertical stream. The same update package also included ad timing changes that delay some livestream ads during peaks in chat activity. (reddeperiodistas.com) YouTube has been widening what counts as a Short for months. The company’s help pages say vertical or square videos up to three minutes long uploaded on or after October 15, 2024 are categorized as Shorts on standard channels, extending the format well beyond the original sub-60-second pitch. (support.google.com) The company has also been adding more creation tools around Shorts, including artificial intelligence features such as Dream Track soundtracks and avatar tools, while continuing to tie discovery and monetization back to the feed. That gives YouTube more ways to keep creators publishing in one system instead of splitting effort across separate products. (9to5google.com 1) (9to5google.com 2) (support.google.com) The result is a platform that is loosening the boundaries between post, short video, and livestream while giving viewers one new way to say no. On YouTube in April 2026, the feed is becoming more flexible in both directions. (9to5google.com 1) (9to5google.com 2) (reddeperiodistas.com)