YouTube updates search to separate Shorts from videos
A new updates means that you can pick between long-form and short-form content on YouTube, plus search with new filters.
YouTube is making changes to how people search for content on the platform. These updates focus on improving search filters and making results easier to control. One of the biggest updates is the ability to separate Shorts from long-form videos in search results.
As reported by The Verge, YouTube is rolling out new search filters that give users more control over what they see.
With the updated filters, users can now choose exactly what type of content they want to see. Instead of getting a mixed feed, search results can be filtered by format. The two main options are, of course, YouTube Shorts and regular videos. This means users no longer have to scroll past content they are not looking for. Whether someone wants quick clips or full-length videos, they can now choose more easily.
YouTube is also removing some existing search filters. Two filters in particular are going away:
- Upload Date – Last Hour
- Sort by Rating
In its update, YouTube said these filters are being removed because they “were not working as expected and had contributed to user complaints.”
While these options are disappearing, users will still have access to other upload date filters. These include Today, This Week, This Month and This Year.
Another key change is how videos are sorted by performance. YouTube is replacing the old “View count” sort option with a new filter called Popularity. This new filter does more than just count views. YouTube explained that “our systems assess a video’s view count and other relevance signals, such as watch time, to determine its popularity for that specific query.”
These changes show that YouTube is continuing to refine how content is discovered. Separating Shorts from long-form videos gives users more choice and reduces frustration. Replacing view count with popularity also points towards a focus on engagement rather than just surface-level numbers.