YouTube, the world’s largest video platform, is making waves again—this time by overhauling its search filters in a bid to give users more control and clarity when sifting through billions of videos. Announced on January 8 and 9, 2026, these changes mark one of the most significant updates to YouTube’s search functionality in recent years, reflecting the company’s ongoing response to user feedback and the evolving landscape of online content.
For years, YouTube’s search filters have been a crucial tool for those seeking specific types of videos—be it long-form documentaries, quick Shorts, or everything in between. But with the explosion of new formats like Shorts and a growing chorus of complaints about confusing or ineffective filters, YouTube decided it was time for a refresh. According to 9to5Google, the company’s latest update aims to “align better with your expectations,” introducing new features, renaming old ones, and removing options that just weren’t working as intended.
At the heart of these updates is the introduction of a dedicated “Shorts” filter. Previously, users searching for content often found their results cluttered with both long-form videos and Shorts—a frustration for those with a clear preference. Now, as reported by BetaNews, users can select “Shorts” to see only short-form videos, or “Videos” to exclusively view traditional, long-form content. Testing confirms that choosing “Videos” excludes Shorts entirely, while the “Shorts” filter delivers just those bite-sized clips. It’s a long-awaited change, and as XDA-Developers noted, “the only surprising part is that it took this long for the change to arrive.”
This new filter arrives alongside a handful of other tweaks designed to streamline the search experience. The “Type” column, now the first option users see, includes Shorts, Videos, Channels, Playlists, and Movies. The Duration filter has been refined as well, shifting from “Under 4 minutes” to “Under 3 minutes,” and adding a “3 – 20 minutes” option, giving viewers more precise control over the length of content they want to watch.
But it’s not just about adding new ways to search—it’s also about making the existing tools easier to understand. The “Sort By” menu, for example, has been renamed to “Prioritize.” This might seem like a minor tweak, but as YouTube explained to FoneArena, it’s meant to reflect how the feature actually works: “this refined sorting menu aims to maximize utility,” helping users emphasize the criteria that matter most to them.
Another notable change involves the old “View count” filter, which has been replaced by “Popularity.” This isn’t just a cosmetic update. According to YouTube’s official explanation, the new Popularity filter goes beyond raw view numbers. It now assesses a video’s view count alongside other relevance signals—like watch time—to determine how popular a video is for a specific search query. As mobigyaan puts it, “instead of relying only on raw view numbers, this option considers multiple relevance signals, including watch time, to determine how popular a video is for a specific search query.” The goal? To surface videos that are both widely viewed and highly relevant to what users are actually searching for.
Of course, not all changes are additions. YouTube is also cleaning house by removing a couple of filters that, frankly, weren’t pulling their weight. The “Upload Date – Last Hour” filter and the “Sort by Rating” option have both been axed. The company’s reasoning, as quoted in 9to5Google, is straightforward: “The two filters we’re removing are ‘Upload Date – Last Hour’ and ‘Sort by Rating.’ However, you can still find the most recent search results in one of our ‘Upload Date’ filters, and explore popular, highly-viewed videos using the new ‘Popularity’ filter option.” These features, YouTube admits, “were not working as expected and had contributed to user complaints.”
For those who regularly dive into the search settings, these removals may take some getting used to. The remaining Upload Date filters—“Today,” “This week,” “This Month,” and “This Year”—still allow users to find fresh content, just not with the granularity of searching for videos uploaded in the past hour. As for the loss of “Sort by Rating,” YouTube hopes the Popularity metric will do a better job surfacing the best content, factoring in not just views but also engagement and relevance.
YouTube is also reorganizing the overall filters menu, aiming to make it more intuitive and less cluttered. The company told FoneArena that these updates are “designed to make search tools clearer and more effective,” and that “the goal is to improve advanced search functionality so users can more easily and consistently find relevant content.” On desktop, the Filters button remains near the top-right of the search results page, while on mobile, users can access filters via the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
While these changes are already visible for some users, the rollout is still in progress. As of January 9, 2026, the updated filters weren’t yet universally available on youtube.com or the YouTube mobile apps, but YouTube assures users that the rollout will be completed soon. Some users may already see the new features on one account but not another—a quirk that’s not uncommon with major platform updates.
It’s worth noting that these updates are not happening in a vacuum. YouTube’s push into Shorts over the past couple of years has dramatically changed the way people consume video on the platform, and the new filters reflect an acknowledgment of that shift. As XDA-Developers observed, “With YouTube’s huge push into Shorts over the past couple of years, it was only a matter of time before Shorts was added to the filter list.”
Underlying all these changes is a clear message from YouTube: the company is listening. In a statement highlighted by BetaNews, YouTube said, “We’ve heard your feedback and are enhancing the search experience by updating our filters to make them more effective and intuitive for everyone. Our goal is to equip you with more effective advanced search tools, ensuring you can consistently and efficiently locate the content you love.”
For everyday users, these updates may seem incremental, but for power users and content creators, the impact could be substantial. More precise filters mean less time wasted scrolling through irrelevant results and more time engaging with the videos that matter most. For YouTube, it’s a balancing act—keeping the platform accessible for casual viewers while providing the advanced tools that serious users demand.
As the new filters continue to roll out, users can expect a search experience that’s not just faster and more intuitive, but also more tailored to their individual preferences. With changes like these, YouTube is signaling that, even as the platform grows and diversifies, it’s still committed to helping users find exactly what they’re looking for—no matter how they choose to watch.
