YouTube's latest trick lets you build a custom feed for every viewing mood

YouTube is refreshing its mobile app homepage to make it easier to switch between content categories and to give users greater control over their recommendations. The biggest addition is a new feature called “custom feeds,” which lets you build personalized video streams around anything you want to watch.

Instead of relying on YouTube’s usual topic suggestions, users can now describe the kind of content they’re looking for and save it as a dedicated feed. That could mean videos about a hobby, a specific subject, or even a mood. YouTube says these feeds go beyond simple keyword searches, with recommendations that continuously update as new videos become available.

To create a custom feed, you can tap the plus button at the top of the homepage feeds and describe what you want to see. You can then revisit your saved feeds directly from the top bar whenever you’re in the mood for that particular kind of content. YouTube also lets you refine a feed by editing its original prompt, or remove feeds you no longer need.

There’s a limit to how many feeds you can keep around at once, though. Free users can save up to three custom feeds, while YouTube Premium subscribers can save up to eight. You can still return to the regular Home feed whenever you want to browse YouTube’s broader range of recommendations.

Custom feeds are now rolling out to signed-in users in the US who use English-language settings on mobile and desktop and have watch and search history enabled.

YouTube’s homepage is getting a navigation makeover

Custom feeds are part of a broader redesign of the YouTube Home tab. The updated interface introduces a simplified top bar that brings frequently accessed destinations closer to the surface.

The Subscriptions feed is moving to the top bar. YouTube is also adding dedicated shortcuts for Live and Music, alongside Movies & TV for viewers with an active subscription to the relevant service.

The changes also mean the existing non-custom topic chips on mobile will be replaced by custom feeds. Instead of relying on YouTube’s predefined categories, users will be able to save the topics and viewing preferences that matter most to them.

YouTube says custom feeds will also sync to desktop, extending the personalized experience beyond the mobile app.