Microsoft is testing a YouTube follow button in its Edge browser
A new Edge browser test will allow users to follow YouTube creators directly from their browser.
Microsoft seems to be trying to better integrate YouTube into its browser, with the latest Canary developer build of the browser including a new feature called ‘followable web’.
This feature will allow users to easily follow their favourite creators on the YouTube platform.
Originally spotted on Reddit, the button pops up in the address bar of the YouTube creator. Once you follow them, their channel will be added to the feed that is a part of the Collections feature in Edge. You can check out what the feature looks like just below.
Since this feature is still in its testing stage, it doesn’t support all creators on YouTube, so you likely won’t be able to follow all of your current favourites yet.
It also seems like the preview isn’t accessible to everyone, as shown by my lack of a feature button in the address bar when I went searching on YouTube using Edge.
If you do manage to add YouTube creators to your Collections list, you can access everyone you follow and see their recent posts in the feed, which can be accessed in the search bar.
It’s likely that Microsoft will continue to try and integrate itself with YouTube to create a more seamless experience for its users. We wouldn’t be surprised if this extended onto other parts of the web too, as Edge is competing directly with Google.
Speaking of, Google does have its own version of Collections. In a blog post from May of last year, the company introduced an experimental feature that allows people to follow creators, blogs and other content while getting notified when new content is published.
At its core this was an extension of RSS inside of Chrome, including a follow button, in a similar set up to Edge’s new Collections.
Going back to Edge, there has been no confirmation if Collections will continue to be a feature and what the rollout plan is. We would expect to see more news about Edge in the next few weeks and be sure to let us know on Twitter if you catch the new feature in your Edge browser.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.