YouTube has decided to close the year with a new feature that is on its way to becoming a global phenomenon. The platform has announced the launch of
The platform claims that this new annual experience will offer a different and personalized look at what we have seen over the past twelve months, with a series of interactive cards that synthesize our digital behaviors and tastes.
YouTube launches its own “Wrapped” to summarize your year in videos
YouTube explains that Recap will allow each user to “quickly review your top video habits from the past year.” The platform details that the new recap “uniquely highlights interests, explorations and moments” based on viewing history.
This Recap offers up to 12 cards showing the most viewed channels, the topics that have most captured the user’s attention and how their tastes have evolved over the year. It will also include statistics related to music and music videos, a nod to the world of YouTube Music. According to the company, the goal is to offer a richer, more visual and emotional way of understanding how we interact with the platform.
A Spotify Wrapped-like experience, but adapted to video
The parallel with Spotify Wrapped is inevitable: YouTube Recap analyzes behaviors, highlights personal trends and creates a kind of annual user narrative. But YouTube goes a step further by introducing something eye-catching: personality types based on viewing habits.
Users will receive a profile that can include categories such as adventurer, skill builder and creative spirit. These types work in a comparable way to what Spotify already uses in its Music Wrapped. The intention is to generate identification while allowing users to see themselves reflected in how they use the platform on a daily basis.
YouTube Recap is beginning its progressive rollout, available today for users in the United States, with a global launch expected later this week. The new feature will be available on both the mobile and desktop versions, and users will find their yearly recap via a dedicated button on the YouTube homepage or within the “You” tab of the menu.
YouTube Recap will also include music data, but will not replace YouTube Music Recap
In addition to video data, YouTube will also incorporate music statistics, such as most listened to artists and most played songs.
However, the company clarifies that this new feature will not replace the traditional YouTube Music annual recap. According to YouTube’s official support page, YouTube Music users will continue to have a separate Recap within that application, dedicated specifically to artists, songs, genres and podcasts.
This year’s trending videos in the US.
Taking advantage of the launch, YouTube has published some lists with the year’s trends among US users. Among the data shared, some well-known names and phenomena stand out: MrBeast is once again the number one creator in the country and The Joe Rogan Experience remains the most listened to podcast.
However, there are also surprises. For example, the KPop soundtrack Demon Hunters was one of the most popular in the overall playlist, but did not achieve the same impact in Shorts. These contrasts reveal how consumption habits change within the different layers of the platform.
A clear strategy: competing in the field of customization
The arrival of YouTube Recap confirms a trend that already dominates the digital sector: users want information about themselves. They want to see their year in data, reinterpreted as a cultural or emotional portrait.
In a context where TikTok, Instagram, Spotify and other platforms compete for attention, YouTube bets on taking a step further in personalization. And it does so by incorporating an experience that allows to recognize the diversity of habits from tutorials to podcasts, through entertainment, music or educational videos; in addition to generating social conversation between users and creating a recognizable, expected and replicable annual event.
