YouTube Restructures Mobile Apps by Moving the Subscriptions Tab and Launching AI-Powered Custom Feeds

YouTube is rolling out a significant overhaul to its Android and iOS applications, introducing a modernized home page experience that brings major changes to how users navigate the platform. The most striking alteration is the relocation of the Subscriptions tab, which is moving away from its long-standing position on the bottom navigation bar to take up residence at the top of the screen. Alongside this layout shift, YouTube is introducing custom feeds that allow users to generate tailored content streams using everyday language prompts, marking one of the most substantial structural redesigns the mobile app has seen in years.

For nearly a decade, since the introduction of the bottom navigation bar in 2017, the Subscriptions tab has been a familiar fixture for mobile viewers, holding down the fourth position on Android and iOS devices. This placement formed a deep layer of muscle memory for millions of users who instinctively tapped the lower-right side of their screens to catch up on the latest uploads from their favorite channels. Under the newly released updates designed to shape a more seamless home experience, that button is gone.

Testing for this layout adjustment began quietly earlier in the year, gathering feedback from users before the official rollout. Now, the Subscriptions tab—affectionately shortened to "Subs" by much of the community—has been moved into the top navigation bar directly on the Home tab. It now sits in the second position immediately following the primary "Home" feed, marked by a distinct red underline that highlights its new territory. While the change aims to streamline the interface, it will undeniably require an adjustment period for veteran users accustomed to reaching for the bottom of the screen.

Beyond the relocation of the Subscriptions tab, the revamped top bar introduces several other dedicated feeds designed to help viewers filter content more efficiently. Once users scroll past the Home and Subs tabs, they will encounter newly organized spaces for Live content, Music, and Movies and TV. Notably, the Movies and TV tab will only appear for users who maintain active subscriptions within that ecosystem, such as those utilizing YouTube Primetime Channels. One welcomed byproduct of this restructuring is the complete removal of YouTube’s traditional side navigation drawer on mobile, simplifying the overall app architecture and reducing clutter.

This interface update arrives hand-in-hand with the rollout of custom feeds, a feature that extends across both mobile applications and the web platform, ensuring that user preferences sync seamlessly between devices. The custom feeds feature leans heavily into modern content discovery by allowing viewers to articulate what they want to watch in their own words. Instead of relying purely on algorithmic recommendations shaped entirely behind the scenes, users can take a more active role in curating what appears on their screens.

By tapping a plus icon located at the top of the Home feed, users can enter descriptive prompts detailing the specific topics, creators, or atmospheres they are looking for. For example, a viewer might type out a prompt asking the system to find content that helps them unwind after a workday with guided meditations under ten minutes in length. Once submitted, the platform generates a brand-new feed built specifically around those parameters, allowing viewers to explore targeted content without endlessly scrolling through their general home page.

These custom feeds are designed to integrate smoothly into the new interface, appearing as top tabs in the main feed right alongside the Home and Subs sections. This placement ensures that viewers can easily jump back into their personalized feeds whenever they want to revisit a specific mood or topic. Users also retain the ability to modify these spaces over time, using a prompt box situated at the top of each individual custom feed to adjust the parameters as their interests shift.

Access to this feature varies depending on account status, establishing a clear distinction between standard and premium tiers. Free users are currently permitted to save up to three active custom feeds at any given time, while YouTube Premium subscribers enjoy an expanded limit, allowing them to save up to eight active custom feeds.

The initial rollout of custom feeds and the accompanying interface updates is currently reaching mobile and desktop users in the United States who are signed in and browsing in English. As the system stabilizes and collects feedback, YouTube plans to expand availability to additional countries and languages in the future.