YouTube to make it easier for commenters to add a timestamp

YouTube’s new functionality makes it easier to add a timestamp in the comments section. The feature is currently available to small group of users as of now. Here is how it will work.

YouTube is working on a new a timestamp button for easier commenting (REUTERS)

YouTube is working on a new feature that will make it easier for commenters to pinpoint a certain moment in a video. The functionality is also going to make it easier for creators to find out which precise moment commenters are talking about.

According to Google, users will get an easier way to add a video timestamp when they are commenting on a YouTube video. People will see a new icon as they are writing a comment. They can simply tap on the icon to generate the timestamp in a video.

First spotted by Android Police, the feature is currently being tested with select users. As of now, there is no word on when or whether the feature will be available to end-users.

“We're testing out an easier way to add a video timestamp tied to the exact moment you're watching when commenting on a video. People in the experiment will see a new icon as they're writing a comment that they can tap to automatically add the current time of the video (without having to manually enter it themselves!). This is only available to a small group of users for now,” said Google on its support page.

As said earlier, it will come in handy for content creators as they will be able to quickly skip to the time commenters are referring to. It will also be useful in case they have made an error and may want to revisit that bit.

That said, it is not the only useful feature YouTube is currently working. The video-sharing company recently revealed it is testing automatic video chapters.'

YouTube had launched video chapters in May this year. As it implies, the feature allows creators to set up different chapters with the caption to help viewers quickly skip to the part they want to watch. The feature is said to be useful for long-format videos such as conferences, Q&A sessions, interviews, and so on.

The new functionality, currently being tested with a select group of users, makes it much easier for content creators to add a chapter. YouTube said it will use machine learning to recognise text in order to auto-generate video chapters.