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YouTube has introduced a new video-level comment moderation tool. It lets creators pause comments on their videos, temporarily blocking viewers from posting comments. Existing comments are preserved and visible to all viewers. Creators can allow viewers to create new comments whenever they want.
YouTube now lets creators pause comments
Until now, YouTube creators had only two ways to moderate comments. They could either completely disable comments on their channels or hold comments for review before publishing them. The new Pause tool gives them more control over comments with video-level settings. Creators can pause comments at the video level rather than across the channel.
YouTube has been testing the new tool among a select group of creators and moderators for a while now. The company found that creators use the pause comments option to “gain more flexibility over how they manage their comments.” The tool also helps them “take a break from managing comments if they become overwhelming, without having to turn them off completely.”
The new moderation tool is available in the video-level comment settings. Creators can click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the comments panel on the watch page to access it. The tool can be accessed directly from the YouTube app or YouTube Studio on desktop and mobile. It is unclear whether YouTube plans to add a pause option for comments for the entire channel. Disabling comments hides existing comments too.
“We’re excited to offer you more choice and flexibility when it comes to how you manage comments on your videos,” YouTube said in a blog post on Thursday. “We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below,” it added. Unsurprisingly, everyone loves the new moderation tool.
YouTube also renamed some of the existing moderation settings
As part of the latest update for comment moderation tools, YouTube renamed some of the existing settings. When comments are enabled, creators have four additional options to choose from. “None” doesn’t hold any comments for review, “Basic” holds potentially inappropriate comments for review, “Strict” holds a broader range of potentially inappropriate comments for review, and “Hold All” requires all comments to be reviewed before publishing them.
YouTube says the new comment moderation tool is rolling out widely to everyone. All creators should have access to video-level pause settings within the next few days. We will let you know if YouTube introduces a channel-level setting to pause comments without hiding existing ones.
