YouTube tests 'play something' feature on mobile app for playing random videos

YouTube has reportedly been trialling a "play something" feature on its mobile app. The button, located within the content on the homepage feed on mobile devices, sends users to a random video when they're unsure of what to watch.

The feature is not yet available to all users, suggesting it may still be in a testing phase. Reports from Android Police indicate the "play something" button mainly leads users to YouTube Shorts, with some users also directed to random full-length videos. It is currently uncertain whether YouTube takes a user's watch history into account when choosing random videos, or the extent of the feature's rollout.

The "play something" feature, first noticed by a Reddit user in May, is similar to Netflix's "Play Something" feature for finding personalized recommended content, so when it's rolled out to the general public, we should expect similar functionality.