New YouTube “Cards” to Eventually Replace Annotations; Arrives on both Desktop & Mobile

YouTube annotations have always been helpful to YouTubers wanting to invite people to their website, gain subscribers, or even promote products. However, many users believe that though useful, annotations are in fact very limited in functionality.

With hopes to improve its annotations feature, YouTube announced a new interactive “Cards” feature on March 16, 2015. In a blog post, the company described the recently developed tool as an “evolution of annotations.” It said:

They [YouTube cards] can inform your viewers about other videos, merch, playlists, websites and more. They look as beautiful as your videos, are available anytime during the video and yes, they finally work on mobile.

YouTube has recognized the need to have annotations work not only on desktop, but also on mobile. With the arrival of YouTube cards, mobile users can finally enjoy the benefits of an instant annotation feature right on their screens. [See Figure 1]

Depending on the content of their videos, users may select from six YouTube card types, which are: Merchandise, Fundraising, Video, Playlist, Associated Website, and Fan Funding. The new “Cards” tab can be found in users’ Video Editor and just like annotations, these cards can be inserted at any point in a video timeline.

Cards are slicker and more attractive compared to traditional annotations, as seen in the video above. Users are required to click the “i” symbol at the side in order to open the transparent, sliding section in which cards are placed.

The same setting also applies when videos are viewed using a mobile device. Of course, those who do not want to be bothered by cards can switch them off completely through their settings dashboard.

The company explained that their goal with cards is to eventually replace annotations, but not until they can “do everything annotations can do today, and more.”

Google’s Help Center articles have more on YouTube cards.

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