Accessibility for YouTube mobile app

The YouTube Android app works with Android's accessibility features. Android provides accessibility support for blind and low vision users with the TalkBack and special accessibility features. Visit the Android Accessibility Help Centre to learn more, including how to turn on these settings.

 

Getting started

After you've turned on your Android accessibility settings, TalkBack and Explore by Touch can help you explore content and elements in the YouTube app. See Explore by Touch instructions for more info about these features.

Explore the app

The main tabs of the app are Home, Subscriptions and Library. Sign in to your account to see the Subscriptions tab.

• Home  lets you browse recommended videos.
• Subscriptions  lets you find videos from the channels that you've subscribed to.
• Library  is where you find your viewing history, uploads, purchases and playlists.

The profile picture  at the top of the app lets you access your settings, the Google Privacy Policy, help and lets you sign in.

Sign in to your account by following the steps below:

1. At the top of the app, tap your profile picture .
2. Select Sign in.

Sign out of your account by following these steps:

1. At the top of the app, tap your profile picture .
2. Select Sign out.

Browse videos and playlists

Use one finger to scroll through videos in Home , playlists or a channel. As you scroll, you'll hear the name of the video and the associated metadata.

Channels: On a channel, use the tabs for Home, Videos and Playlists to browse content from the selected channel.

Search for videos and playlists

To search for a video using Explore by Touch, tap the top of the screen to find the search button. The button will be next to the 'More options' element.

1. Double-tap on the search button and add your search to the 'edit' box.
2. Use Explore by Touch to browse search results.

Play and control videos

Once you've found a video to play, double-tap to begin playback. To bring up the player controls, double-tap the 'Player' at the top of the screen.

Player controls and options

Pause: Double-tap 'pause video' to pause the video.

Minimise video: Double-tap the 'Minimise' button to minimise a video during playback. When a video is minimised, you can browse or search while it continues to play.  

Dismiss minimised video: To dismiss the minimised video player, double-tap the 'Close mini-player' button on the right-hand side.

Expand minimised video: Double-tap 'Player' and swipe up using two fingers to expand the minimised video player.

Add to playlist: Double-tap the 'Save video to playlist' button to open the 'Save video to' alert. Use Explore by Touch to select a playlist. To create a playlist, double-tap 'New playlist'.

• Tap the 'Title – Edit' box to name your playlist.
• Double-tap the 'Drop-down list – Private' to make your playlist private, public or unlisted.

More options: Double-tap the 'More options' button in the top-right corner to find these options.

• Change video quality: Double-tap the 'Quality' button.
• Report a video: Double-tap the 'Report' button.
• Closed captions: Double-tap the 'Captions' button.

Below the video, you'll find the following info or features:

• Video description and metadata.
• Like and dislike buttons.
• Channel subscribe button.
• Video suggestions.
• An option to add a comment.
• Comments about the video.

Uploads

To go to your YouTube video uploads, open Library  and select Your videos. Use one finger to scroll through videos that you've uploaded to your channel.

Upload a video

1. At the bottom of the screen, double-tap the 'Create' button.
2. At the top of the screen, double-tap the 'Upload a video' button, found next to 'Go live'.
3. To find a video to upload, scroll through your device's photo gallery. Double-tap to select a video.
4. Enter your video title in the 'Create a title' edit box.
5. Enter a video description in the 'Add description' edit box.
6. Select a privacy level (private, unlisted or public) from the 'Privacy' drop-down list.
7. In the top right-hand corner of the screen, double-tap 'Next'.
8. Select the appropriate 'Made for Kids' option in the middle of the screen.
9. In the top right-hand corner of the screen, double-tap 'Upload'.

Edit a video

To edit a video's title, description or privacy settings:

1. Use two fingers to scroll through your uploaded videos.
2. Double-tap the 'Action menu' button next to the video that you'd like to edit.
3. Double-tap 'Edit' in the video's 'Alert' box.
4. Double-tap the title or description edit boxes, or the 'Privacy' drop-down list.
5. Double-tap the 'SAVE' button in the top-right corner when you've finished making your edits.

Delete a video

To delete one of your uploaded videos:

1. Use two fingers to scroll through your uploaded videos.
2. Double-tap the 'Action menu' button next to the video that you'd like to edit.
3. Double-tap 'Delete' in the video's 'Alert' box.
4. When asked to 'Delete this video', double-tap the 'DELETE' button on the right.

Turn accessibility setting on/off

If you're seeing an X icon in the video player, it's because your device has an accessibility setting on. You can turn this accessibility setting off on your Android device, or within the YouTube app.

On your Android device:

1. Go to your Android device Settings  .
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Select the relevant accessibility option.
4. Select Off.

Within your YouTube app:

1. At the top of the app, tap your profile picture .
2. Select Settings  .
3. Select Accessibility.
4. If you want to override the Android device-level setting, turn off 'Accessibility Player'.
5. You can also set a timer to automatically hide the video player controls after X seconds.