Similar to how we can see the number of concurrent views during a Facebook Live video, YouTube was spotted by Android Police to be doing the same. If you were always curious about the number of people currently watching the same video with you, or when the the next viral video may breakout, then you’d soon be able to find out.
Simple as it is, and very reminiscent of Facebook Live, visiting the Android YouTube Application should show the current number of people viewing the video. The “now watching” count is strategically placed below the title of the video, and above the thumbs up icon, a placement that produces minimal distraction.
The Android Police lists YouTube’s test as a server-side test, only available to a selected number of Android users. Likewise, it was noted that unlike previous server-side tests that were implemented on the YouTube website first, and then on mobile, this is was done otherwise.
Analytics is key when determining how well or how effective your video is doing. For content creators, the new feature may serve as way to have live monitoring. For viewers, it may serve as way to monitor the next viral video. The next time you’re watching that next Gangnam style video, or the next Despacito video, of which, currently holds the position as the most viewed video, then you might just be able to see how many viewers are currently contributing to the the video’s viral content.