YouTube has announced a new experimental feature aimed at "providing a safer search experience for all users." The service will begin blurring some search result thumbnails that "frequently contain sexual themes." according toLatest updates to the community section of the YouTube Help Center website, this feature is currently rolling out to a small group of users.
It's unclear which sexual-themed search results will show video listings with blurred thumbnails, but YouTube said the video's title, channel name and its description will remain visible. Viewers can also choose to unblur thumbnails.
The purpose of this small-scale test is to "understand whether such features help users avoid accidentally viewing content that complies with YouTube's Community Guidelines but may contain sensitive content." But unlike SafeSearch on Google's search engine, which can blur and filter search results, YouTube's new experimental feature won't ignore search results. Currently, it is designed to provide additional protection from underage or unsuspecting users being immediately exposed to potentially inappropriate content.