In summary
- YouTube Recap rolling out now
- Analyses 2025 viewing history
- No watch history, no recap
YouTube is issuing a new Spotify-like Recap feature that offers a breakdown of your year’s viewing – but not everyone will get it.
For some time now, music services such as Spotify – and indeed YouTube Music itself – have ended the year with a summary of your listening habits over the previous 12 months. It can be a fascinating (and for some people embarrassing) insight into what your actual musical tastes are, rather than what you tell people they are.
Now YouTube has extended that facility to its main video arm, and it has the potential to be even more insightful/embarrassing. Over on the official YouTube blog, the company outlines the new YouTube Recap feature.
YouTube
What is YouTube Recap?
Once available in your region, you should be able to find Your Recap on the YouTube homepage. Otherwise, it’ll be available to access under the You tab on mobile and desktop.
It’ll analyse your watch history and pull out major themes and interests. This will be comprised of up to 12 cards highlighting your favourite channels and evolving viewing habits. It’ll even take a punt at labelling your personality type based on said habits (such as Adventurer, Skill Builder, and Creative Spirit).
Music should also be rolled into this if you use YouTube as your primary source for such things, so you’ll find out your favourite artists and songs, as well as deeper dives into preferred genres.
YouTube
Spoiling the view
There’s a catch to all this, of course. Did you spot it?
We mentioned above that YouTube Recap pulls from your watch history. If you have this tracking feature turned off – I’m told it’s a viable way to avoid falling into an endless Shorts wormhole – you won’t have anything for Google to analyse. Ergo, no YouTube Recap for you.
For everyone who’s been happy to have YouTube track their viewing history and feed them recommendations throughout 2025, YouTube Recap should be rolling out now to North American users, and to the rest of the world later this week.
