YouTube Will Remove All Video Annotations on Jan. 15

Do you remember those little text boxes that used to pop-up all the time on top of YouTube videos? Google calls them annotations and they are set to disappear completely from YouTube videos on Jan. 15 next year.

YouTube actually gave up on annotations back in May 2017 when their use dropped by over 70 percent. At the time, the annotations editor was discontinued meaning no new annotations could be created and added to videos. I think we can all agree they were quite ugly and did little to enhance watching videos. On Jan. 15, 2019 they will become a thing of the past as Google announced on its support site that all existing annotations will be removed from videos.

Those who hate them may rejoice, but removing annotations completely will cause a few problems. When annotations were the only way to add new content to a YouTube video they were used to point out mistakes or correct a link stated in the video that was no longer relevant/working, for example. So after Jan. 15 next year, those mistakes will remain in the videos, but the annotations correcting them will no longer appear.

Instead of annotations, YouTube wants creators to embrace end screens and cards. Not only do they look a lot more professional, but by default they work on mobile devices. Cards can be used to point viewers to a website, show image overlays, titles, or even to embed a poll for viewers to respond to. End screens allow creators to encourage subscriptions and promote other videos.

Google claims cards and end screens generate seven-times more clicks than annotations. So as well as making your videos look much more professional than annotations did, they have a much higher chance of engaging with a video's audience. So bid farewell to the unloved annotation and embrace the card and end screen future (until Google decides to replace them with something new).