YouTube Tests Buram Thumbnails On Adult Content

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA YouTube is testing the appearance of thumbnails that look blurry when users get adult content browsing results. This display began to be introduced on Tuesday, April 29.

SafeSearch features the same, but with different concepts. On SafeSearch, adult content is not only blurred, but also filtered from search results. Unlike YouTube, the platform will not screen adult content from search results.

In a recent update to the Help Center Community, YouTube said that this new feature is presented to, "provide a more secure search experience for all users."

There is no information about what kind of sexual theme YouTube will dim. The Google-owned video platform also doesn't explain what kind of query users use when this blurry thumbnail appears in search results.

"For search queries that often include sexual themes, search results may display buried thumbnails," explained YouTube. "This helps users avoid displaying content that accidentally follows YouTube Community Guidelines but may be sensitive."

YouTube also explained that this test only blurred video thumbnails. They will not eliminate information such as titles, YouTube channel names, and the description of the video will still look as usual.

If users object to the buried adult content thumbnail, they can change this setting. This feature is still in the development stage so it is not yet known in what settings this feature can be turned off.