YouTube Chapters is a feature that lets the viewer skip to specific points in a video like reading the chapters of a book. This is especially helpful with lengthy video essays where the viewer, for whatever reason, wants to view a particular portion. There was a soft roll out of this feature in April and it is now available for Desktop and Mobile everywhere.
Where is this feature located?
Its hardly noticeable but this feature can be found on the navigation bar of a video. If you scroll across a video with timestamps in the description the sections of the video will already be divided.
How do creators access this feature
This feature can enabled by simply adding time stamps to the video but it has to start with the “0.00”. The time stamps need to have at least 3 letters describing the stamp on the same line. For example “0.00 – Start” and the rest of the time stamps can follow.
The time stamps can be edited even after publishing and will reflect quickly.
What does this mean for viewers?
This is a feature that should have been there from the beginning. After testing out myself it makes navigating through sections of interest on a video so much easier. There is a pop up that shows when you are in the next chapter if you can’t quite see the breaks in the video scroll.
You are no longer limited to scrolling through the description of a video to find time stamps. This I think is a welcome feature and will enhance the experience for creators as well as for the viewers.
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