The ‘Hide’ button: YouTube adds option to dismiss end-of-video suggestions

YouTube is giving viewers more control over their experience with a much-requested update, the ability to hide recommendation pop-ups that appear at the end of videos. The platform announced on Wednesday that users will now see a new “Hide” button in the top-right corner of the player whenever an end screen shows up. Once tapped, the pop-ups will disappear for the video currently being watched, though they can be restored with a “Show” button if needed.

The update comes in response to one of the most common frustrations on the platform: end screens often block the final frames of a video, disrupting the viewing experience. By adding this option, YouTube aims to make watching less distracting while still allowing creators to feature end screens.

In addition, YouTube is removing the “Subscribe” button that previously appeared when users hovered over a branded watermark. Explaining the move, the company said, “Since there’s already a Subscribe button directly below the video player, we’re removing this additional Subscribe button to simplify and improve the viewing experience.

For creators, YouTube emphasized that the impact of these changes will be minimal. The company noted, “We have closely analyzed the potential impact of the changes we’re introducing and we expect there to be minimal impact to your performance. Giving users the option to hide end screens resulted in a less than 1.5% decrease in views from end screens, based on a global experiment on mobile from March-July 2025.”

Further, YouTube shared that less than 0.05% of channel subscriptions came from the hover-to-subscribe functionality on watermarks, reinforcing that the change will not affect subscriber growth.

With these updates, YouTube is signalling that user experience takes priority. The new controls highlight how small but thoughtful tweaks can significantly improve how people engage with content on the platform.