- YouTube have just made a decision
that's going to impact millions of creators.
From July the 29th,
you will no longer be able to hide your subscribe count.
Every channel will be transparent.
Everyone will know just how big
or indeed just how small your channel is.
The question is, why?
So I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments
as I read off three YouTube updates,
which I've linked in the description
just below our like button.
Without doubt, the headline update
is the removal of the option to hide your subscriber count.
Now on the surface, this looks like, yet again,
a pointless YouTube intervention where none is required.
Why are you meddling with a subscriber count?
Well, on this occasion, there is a really good reason
that I think most creators can get on board with.
We've seen bad actors
hide their channels' subscriber counts
to impersonate, larger, more prominent channels on YouTube.
They pretend to be other creators in comments
then lure people to their impersonating channel page.
So that sounds like a really good idea,
but YouTube, I think you could do more.
First of all, the verification check mark,
it doesn't appear everywhere on mobile device
so you may wanna fix that.
And then what about channel names
and the profile icons themselves.
Imagine if at a certain subscriber count, say 10,000,
you could claim your channel name so no one else can use it
and content ID protect your profile image.
I mean, it would stop this sort of stuff happening.
Now I will admit I've not completely thought this through
but you can claim your custom URL at 100 subscribers,
why not your channel identity?
But going back to the subscribe count,
ultimately, this update is going to help
a lot of YouTube users stay safe on the platform.
But what is this going to do to creators' mental health?
And let's start off this conversation
with two, yeah, awkward questions.
If you saw a channel had literally zero subscribers,
would you subscribe to them?
And how many channels are you subscribed to
that have less than 100 subscribers?
For many, there is a stigma attached
to a small subscriber count.
Many small channels hide their subscriber count
not because they're trying to impersonate someone,
but because they're embarrassed.
They believe that
because they don't have a large following,
no one is gonna give their videos a chance.
And that is a fair comment.
It is almost impossible not to judge a channel
on first impressions,
and the subscriber count is a big factor
in first impressions.
On the other hand, creators and viewers could argue
that hiding your subscriber count
has always felt a little suspicious
because it's not the default setting on YouTube.
You always notice when a subscriber count is hidden
which always begs the question, why?
Now, in fairness to YouTube,
they are acknowledging the impact
this is going to have on creators.
"We've made this decision to help our community
be safer as a whole, but we recognize not all creators
using this option are bad actors.
We know some creators prefer to hide their sub counts
as they try to grow.
If you want to learn more about establishing your fanbase,
check out this resource."
And of course, the resource that we're talking about was,
ah, good old vidIQ.
Here's my ultimate take on this update.
When it comes to YouTube and especially subscribers,
a number should never define you as a creator
or your value to your audience.
As for the two other YouTube updates.
(bell dinging)
YouTube have been experimenting
with this new increased strictness toggle for spam comments,
and for us, it's been working quite well.
The good news is that it's been rolled out to all creators.
And channel names with special characters
that post nothing but comments about telegrams
should become a thing of the past
as YouTube is reducing the character set that you can use.
Yeah, I haven't really got anything
to add about those updates
because they're just really sensible.
If you've been watching vidIQ for any length of time,
you will know my attitude towards subscribers.
They're just a huge distraction.
At least for now,
they continue to be a part of the YouTube platform.
And in most people's eyes,
represent a channel's success and growth
when they really shouldn't.
If you wanna learn more about subscribers,
going from zero to a million
and how it's more about growing a community,
growing an audience, then watch this epic video over here.