YouTube updates Shorts to make it even more like TikTok
Similar to TikTok’s ‘clear mode,’ a new ‘clear screen’ feature will remove the clutter from the video you’re watching.
by Emma Roth
Jun 25, 2026, 6:08 PM EDT
Image: Google
Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
YouTube is adding even more TikTok-like features to Shorts, including a new “clear screen” mode that removes the icons and text from the video you’re watching. In a blog post on Thursday, YouTube says it’s also replacing the “thumbs-up” button with a “heart” icon, and is introducing a new option that lets you watch Shorts at 2x speed.
You can now speed up a short by swiping down on your screen. GIF: Google
As noted by YouTube, you can speed up a video by holding down the edge of your screen and lifting your finger when you want it to return to normal speed. You can lock the speed at 2x by pressing the player and swiping down. Another change allows you to mute watching by tapping the video and selecting the “mute” button.
These new additions make Shorts even more like TikTok, which has had the similarly-named “clear mode” for years — a feature that also removes captions, icons, and usernames from your screen. TikTok already offers a way to speed up videos as well, and lets users “like” a video by pressing a “heart” button.
Along with these updates, YouTube is removing the “dislike” button. It’s encouraging users to share their feedback with the platform by selecting the “Not interested” and “Don’t recommend this channel” options from the three-dots menu instead.
