Tech Desk
Aug 10, 2024
Have you ever fallen asleep while watching a video on YouTube, only to wake up hours later with your history filled with countless videos due to the auto-play feature?
Fortunately, there's now a solution. YouTube is testing a new "Sleep Timer" feature to address this issue.
The video-sharing platform has introduced this feature for its Premium users, which automatically pauses a video after a set period, helping to conserve the device’s battery.
Read more: YouTube to launch Twitter-like Community Notes feature
Spotify has had a sleep timer for some time, and TikTok tested sleep nudges based on a preset bedtime last year.
Here’s how to access the Sleep Timer on YouTube:
- If you’re a YouTube Premium user, you can enable the timer feature by going to Settings > “Try experimental new features.” Open YouTube on your mobile device or desktop, navigate to the settings menu while playing a video, and try Sleep Timer.
- The Sleep Timer option will appear in the Settings, allowing you to choose an option from 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or until the video ends. When YouTube pauses playback, an option will appear to extend the timer. If you're awake and want to extend it, you can; otherwise, the video will remain paused, and your device will go to sleep.
Currently, the Sleep Timer feature is available for testing until September 2. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if YouTube decides to roll out this feature to non-premium subscribers as well.
