YouTube Introduces Sleep Timer for Premium Users: A Small But Useful Feature in Testing
Ibrahim Awotunde
YouTube continues to enhance its Premium tier with new experimental features, and the latest addition is a sleep timer designed to automatically pause videos after a set period.
While it may not be a groundbreaking innovation, this feature is likely to be appreciated by users who enjoy falling asleep to long podcasts, white noise, or other soothing content.
Premium subscribers can activate the sleep timer directly from the YouTube website on their desktop or by navigating to “Settings > Try experimental new features” on their mobile devices.
Once enabled, the sleep timer option appears within the video player’s settings menu. Users can choose to pause the video after intervals of 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes, or opt to have the video stop at its natural end.
If playback is paused by the timer, a pop-up notification will appear, giving users the option to extend the timer if they wish to continue watching or listening.
Though YouTube is a bit late to the game—Spotify has offered a similar sleep timer feature for some time, and TikTok began testing sleep nudges aligned with preset bedtimes last year—the addition is a welcome one for those who rely on YouTube for nighttime viewing.
Currently, this sleep timer is available for testing until September 2, 2024. While there’s no official word on whether it will become a permanent fixture, many users are hoping YouTube will not only keep the feature but also make it accessible to free users.
This isn’t the first experimental feature YouTube has rolled out to its Premium subscribers. Previous tests have included an AI assistant capable of answering questions about videos and a lock screen feature designed to prevent accidental taps during playback.
As YouTube continues to test and refine these features, Premium users can expect more enhancements aimed at improving their overall experience on the platform.
