YouTube “borrows” a feature present in the “Vanced” variant for several years, but only offers it to Premium users

I’m sure many remember YouTube Vanced, that tweaked version of the video platform that was shut down by Google a few years after its launch. Since the advent of the premium subscription that gets rid of our ads, YouTube has been trying to bring all kinds of features that make subscribing to the service more attractive. The last option tested is called “Jump Ahead” and it seems familiar, as it was one of the features present in the Vanced version of YouTube. I have details below.

The feature can be turned on from the app settings by YouTube Premium users under the experimental options menu. Once activated, for every video watched on the platform a pop-up will appear “Jump Ahead” which will take us to the most watched part of the video. If you go to a certain clip just because its name caught your eye, you’ll be able to press this button to fast-track the part that interests you.

The feature uses Machine Learning technology to detect the most interesting parts of the watched clips. Thus, it should not be confused with the option that allows us to see which is the most viewed part of a video clip. However, it should take us to that one-button segment as it would also be the most interesting.

YouTube says it only works with certain “eligible” clips, though it hasn’t specified what criteria those must meet. Currently it can be activated by users in the US, but soon it will be available globally.

Among all the options “borrowed” by Google, a “Sponsor Block” function seems to be useful. It remains to be seen whether we will see something like this in the future.