Are those pop-up end screens ruining the last few seconds of your YouTube videos? The platform has finally addressed the issue. YouTube is rolling out a new ‘Hide’ button, giving viewers the ability to dismiss end screen overlays and enjoy videos seamlessly until the closing frame.

Why end screens have been frustrating for viewers

End screens have traditionally helped creators promote related or other videos from their channel, highlight playlists, or encourage subscriptions. While useful for channel growth, many users have long criticised these pop-ups for cluttering the screen and disrupting the natural conclusion of videos. Now, YouTube has responded to that feedback with a solution that temporarily clears them away.

How the ‘Hide’ button works

The new ‘Hide’ option will appear in the top-right corner of the video player once end screens are displayed. With a single click, users can instantly remove recommendations, playlist links, and subscription prompts. If they change their mind, they can easily bring them back by selecting ‘Show’.

However, the toggle only applies to the video currently being watched. This means the action must be repeated for each video where a distraction-free ending is preferred.

YouTube clarified in a blog post saying, “Selecting this button will only hide end screens for the current video you’re watching – not for all videos.”

Desktop viewing tweaks

Alongside the new button, YouTube is introducing another change for desktop users. Hovering over a creator’s branded watermark will no longer trigger an instant subscribe option. Instead, the standard subscribe button remains beneath the video for those wishing to support a channel. YouTube says the adjustment is aimed at simplifying and improving the overall viewing experience.

Minimal impact on creators

YouTube has assured creators that the changes will not drastically affect engagement. Internal testing showed the new ‘Hide’ feature caused less than a 1.5 per cent drop in views from end screens, while removing the hover-to-subscribe action accounted for under 0.05 per cent of total subscriptions.

Creators will still be able to include up to four interactive elements at the end of their videos, and branded watermarks will continue to act as identity markers. The only change is how viewers interact with these features.