YouTube's Sleep Timer: No More Auto-Play Surprises

Ever fallen asleep to a YouTube video, only to wake up with a playlist full of random videos you didn't even know existed? Well, YouTube's got your back now. For all you night owls who love drifting off to a podcast, a tutorial, or just some relaxing white noise, YouTube is testing a brand-new sleep timer on its Premium tier.


YouTube's been experimenting with various features on its Premium service for a while now, and this latest one is all about helping you manage your late-night viewing. The sleep timer lets you pause your video after a set period, so you won't wake up to a new YouTube obsession you didn't sign up for. It's not exactly a groundbreaking feature, but it's one that might just save you from the dreaded auto-play rabbit hole.

Setting it up is a breeze. If you're a YouTube Premium user, you can find this feature on the desktop site or through the "Settings > Try experimental new features" option on your mobile device. Once activated, the Sleep Timer option appears in the video player's settings. You can then choose to pause the video after 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes—or just when the video ends. And if you're still awake when it's time for the video to pause, no worries! You'll get a pop-up asking if you want to extend the timer.

This feature is currently available as an experiment until September 2, 2024, so there's a bit of urgency if you want to test it out. It's one of those "Why didn't they do this sooner?" features, especially since other platforms like Spotify and TikTok have had similar sleep-related functions for a while now. Spotify, for instance, has had a sleep timer for ages, and TikTok has been playing around with sleep nudges based on your bedtime since last year.

While YouTube might be a little late to the game, the sleep timer is definitely a welcome addition.

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