YouTube has told creators that they will be including a new feature on their YouTube app that will let users finish a video or an entire playlist if their internet connection cuts off. Called “Add to Device”, users will have up to 48 hours to finish watching the video, and is scheduled to roll out in November
“From the watch page through the “add to device” functionality feature, viewers will be able to designate certain content that they can watch for a short period of time when they do not have connectivity. At the time when the user no longer has connectivity, they will be able to watch the videos and playlists that they have added to their device by accessing the videos through an “on device” section of their guide,” YouTube said in an email to creators.
After 48 hours, users will need to reconnect in order to see the video. The timers will also reset after reconnecting.
From today, YouTube creators will have the option to disable the feature on their videos before the scheduled rollout. Currently, it only applies to the channel itself, but creators will soon be able to do disable this feature by country and for each video individually.