• YouTube

YouTube

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Overview

YouTube has a rating of 2.71 stars from 1,474 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about YouTube most frequently mention customer service, many ads, and content creators problems. YouTube ranks 125th among Videos sites.

  • Service
    297
  • Value
    278
  • Shipping
    180
  • Returns
    182
  • Quality
    278
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 18.5%
Positive
24
Neutral
6
Negative
100
172
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

  • Whether I'm looking for educational tutorials, entertaining vlogs, or music videos, YouTube has it all.

Critical highlights

  • The customer service is also terrible in regards to how buggy the whole platform is on any device.
  • The constant demonetization threat over content creators?
How would you rate YouTube?
Top Positive Review

“Ok”

Rida A.
3/23/24

YouTube is my go-to platform for video content. Whether I'm looking for educational tutorials, entertaining vlogs, or music videos, YouTube has it all. The user-friendly interface and personalized recommendations make it easy to discover new content. I also appreciate the diverse community of creators and the ability to interact through comments and likes

Top Critical Review

“Youtube has become garbage”

Rob C.
3/19/24

Too many advertisements in front of the videos in recent weeks. Additionally, I'm tired of this platform blurring out sections of a video like a war documentary. Its history. STOP BLURRING IT OUT. I wish creators would start switching to Rumble. They have 1080p videos now and no blurring, very little censorship. Youtube has become trash.

Reviews (1,474)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

customer service (55) content creators (22) music videos (27)
Thumbnail of user robc669
1 review
2 helpful votes
March 19th, 2024
• Updated review

Too many advertisements in front of the videos in recent weeks. Additionally, I'm tired of this platform blurring out sections of a video like a war documentary. Its history. STOP BLURRING IT OUT. I wish creators would start switching to Rumble. They have 1080p videos now and no blurring, very little censorship. Youtube has become trash.

Service
Its OK
July 6th, 2023
• Previous review

They have interesting content but the platform does stupid things. For example it will start playing a movie in 720p yet the movie offers a resolution in 1080p. Why dont these idiots just play the movie in the highest resolution? It could at least communicate with the computer or phone & see if 1080p is possible. Nearly all devices today support 1080p.

Service
Thumbnail of user kimad3568
1 review
0 helpful votes
August 26th, 2023

إنه صادق وجميل لاسيما الاصدارات الاخيرة بحيث إنه يحرص على تقديم افضل محتوى ممكن للمشاهد مما يجعلك تستمتع بالتجربة

Thumbnail of user abhishekk103
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 14th, 2021

Experience of this website i am running this website on mobile phone and in this it is lagging so please

Thumbnail of user borniob
6 reviews
0 helpful votes
March 6th, 2024

I am... disappointed a bit, because once when i wanted to run my own blog in YT, they imposed ones of limitations on published content. That was the most disappointing thing, they either don't allow my video to get into recommendations section, or they just turn off monetization.
Overall, this platform is good for getting fame, look at guys like Mr.Beast or others. Nevertheless, there are many disadvantage which don't allow me to reveal my potential as a blogger. Perhaps, I will get along with them but not in the nearest future. So far I wrapped up my activity as a blogger, as number of subscribers and watches fell twice.

Thumbnail of user isayahb
3 reviews
2 helpful votes
December 16th, 2020

I have very little qualms with YouTube in general, YouTube music however is a different story and because I cannot find a separate page for YouTube Music it's going here instead. Aside from the poor quality of audio on certain songs, the lack of lyrics and more importantly correct lyrics a lot of music is missing from the site or certain artists are missing. Considering Google moved (forced) all their customers off of Google Play (which had a minute amount of the issues mentioned above) is strange that it wasn't done correctly. They mentioned that all music from Google Play would be accessible from YouTube Music... WRONG.

I would say I'm shocked they'd blatantly lie to their loyal customers but I'd be a fool if I believed those words, shameful.

Thumbnail of user lindam5024
3 reviews
6 helpful votes
April 16th, 2024
• Updated review

It's probably not YouTube's fault. During the pandemic, it was *the* channel to watch. Now, people just aren't making the vids anymore...they, too, have "real" lives to get back to. Sadly, it's now filled with ads that don't appear to be targeted to any specific audience. Being a "woman of a certain age", YouTube is trying to sell me hot girls, "cheap" (!) vacation packages, vehicles, processed meat, and news, news, news. Being addicted to it, I confess I check daily to see if there's One New Thing I'm interested in viewing, but I usually go away disappointed.

Tip for consumers:
Post-pandemic, its luster is gone, its offerings stale and uninteresting.

Products used:
The service is not attempting to "sell" me anything, although it does have consumer products shown in its videos. I don't buy them, regardless.

Service
Value
Quality
The most dangerous source of stupidity ever devised...
November 30th, 2023
• Previous review

There are a few good videos on YouTube, but a random search revealed that 90% or more, in my opinion, are probably fakery designed to baffle, terrify, or simply brainwash us. The "service" is the single most dangerous source of stupidity available to the gullible, but again, this is just my opinion based on observation and education. If you believe everything you see, even if you believe it's fake, you're probably still being tested by some algorithm somewhere to see just how much malarkey you'll swallow before barfing. As a people, we are already ensnared by the machine. There's no going back. Never thought I'd be grateful to be getting old...I won't be alive to see the end of rational thought, but I feel sad for the children and grandchildren of today, who seem disinclined to question anything transmitted to them via their numerous devices.

Tip for consumers:
Parental guidance suggested.

Products used:
Purely an entertainment medium, so not so much a product as an observation of its uses.

Service
Quality
Thumbnail of user crestenl
1 review
2 helpful votes
August 1st, 2023

In my opinion youtube is folded with ads,
And less you have to pay 20USD for wifi.
Google destroyed youtube.

Thumbnail of user brynashiac
3 reviews
5 helpful votes
October 22nd, 2020

I was $#*!ing watching a video, and it keeps resetting everytime I try to watch a video. And then when I try to reload it slows down. It's starting to piss me off. And then there's people that are toxic. I legit can not take it anymore.

Tip for consumers:
I wouldn’t use it as much, it doesn’t work right. It needs to be fix.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user mikeb1676
23 reviews
39 helpful votes
October 16th, 2020

I used to use this site all the time but their recent policy of deleting videos dubious of covid tells me that they no longer have any interest in free speech.
But then this is google and they are now effectively state supported.

Thumbnail of user fucky155
1 review
2 helpful votes
August 25th, 2020

YouTube used to give you one ad once every 7-12 minutes. But now it gives DOUBLE ADS EVERY TWO MINUTES! I watch more ads than actual videos at this point and I am about ready to sue YouTube or get it shut down.

Thumbnail of user shanok33
1 review
5 helpful votes
August 13th, 2023

You watch one video and it's over, now all your recommendation videos are the same kind and they force you to watch all videos from the same channel. Even "new to you" doesn't make to much difference. And the biggest "joy" to see, when they recommend you to watch already seen videos. Yotube just a lousy, greedy, lazy moneymaking spam site. "sorry" for my english. But, if there were better video platform youtube already died at current state.

Thumbnail of user craigf258
2 reviews
4 helpful votes
November 6th, 2021

YouTube videos are overwhelmingly informative and entertaining. There's a high degree of toxic dysfunctional reality on display - for example, war, crime, cruelty and tragedy befalling both humans and animals - but it's easy to just pass on such content and the algorithm will just feed you whatever more positive content you like. The problem remains that there are so many ads on YouTube videos that a significant percentage of your viewing time is spent waiting for them to end.

There's a darker side to YouTube, and that's in the comments sections under the videos. Here are the issues...

Censorship is skewed in favor of hostility and ignorance. For some disturbing reason, YouTube allows the most offensive comments and replies (including blatant and dangerous political propaganda) while deleting some of the most intelligent comments that aim to solve problems, not create them. It's bad enough that I have a conspiracy theory that YouTube is actively encouraging social problems and discord between people because it attracts much more viewers than social harmony does. It's also extremely anti-American. Even the most ignorant anti-American comments are allowed while any intelligent defense of America to anti-American comments is deleted by YouTube immediately. It got so bad that I ended up reporting it to the FBI's Internet Crimes Division (since then, YouTube deletes all my comments in retribution).

Follow up to my recent report of YouTube's anti-American bias...

Since then, I posted on YouTube a warning to their censors to stop posting hate speech or I would report YouTube to the FBI. YouTube is now deleting all my comments in retribution.

In spite of current active lawsuits against YouTube for channeling hate speech to mass shooters and other political radicals and criminals, YouTube continues to maintain a bias for hate speech, while actively opposing socially responsible comments, as follows -

Comment by another viewer that YouTube allowed to be posted under a video about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing (the below response was to a post saying that McVeigh should have turned to God instead) -

"Oh shut the $#*! Up bible thumper. Shove your imaginary friend up your $#*!. I'm $#*!in sick of y'all pushin that $#*! On everyone. Keep that bull$#*! To yourself unless you're speaking with a fellow gullible idiot."
(Note- There were no exclamation marks in the YouTube comment. The expletives were left written as they'd be heard on the street).

My own comment (under a different video) that YouTube immediately deleted, was about Rebecca Grossman, a wealthy woman convicted of murdering two children-

"To an entitled person, fair play and established procedure is malicious when it's aimed at their own violations of decency and responsibility. When that same fair play and procedure is aimed at anyone that's done THEM wrong, they feel it's never punitive enough."

Via what's allowed to be posted vs what's deleted by censors, YouTube has become increasingly anti-American This has especially involved our support of both Ukraine and Israel.

A call for future terrorist actions by a Muslim extremist was allowed to be posted by YouTube in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians...

"Slowly but surely, the Palestinians were able to show the true face of Zionism and Israel, albeit at a very high cost. The time for action will come. It is impossible to stop the liberation, this is a story that repeats itself more than once."

I reported it to YouTube censors as advocating terrorism. Along with a warning I'd report them to the FBI if they re-posted it. YouTube's final action was to delete my warning reply and re-post the ominous comment.

In her book "How Civil Wars Start" Barbara Walter writes that: "Social Media doesn't just drive countries down the democratic ladder. It also heightens the ethnic, social, religious and geographic divisions that can be the first step in the creation of factions. This is because myth, emotions, and the politics of grievance (all of which drive factionalism) make for incredibly engaging content. Social Media algorithms encourage this divisive content. They segregate people by design, driving those whose values or opinions differ into ever-diverging realities, tearing societies apart." She continues: "Algorithms, by pushing outrageous material, allow nationalist extremists to shore up people's toxic views of 'the other' - thus creating divisions."

And yet it's become clear to me that in addition to deliberately encouraging general discord among viewers, YouTube goes further beyond that by using it's selective censorship to support specific political groups (on either political extreme) that advocate social chaos.

Going by what gets 'Likes', the viewers themselves are only too happy to oblige them, vastly favoring angry, simplistic comments over anything sophisticated and productive. In addition to being impoverished of ideas, dialogues in the comments sections end very quickly. As soon as a conversation starts becoming interesting and insightful, the other person disappears like a rabbit down a hole. But the majority of your comments or replies are ignored. Among the few replies I receive, when I respond to them I never hear back.

The dubious reassurance for all the above is that YouTube comments sections are little more than an echo chamber that gives you the shallow, fleeting illusion that your views matter to others, while actually just providing you an empty space within which you're essentially just talking to yourself. Typically your comments will only drown in thousands of others, because most people lose interest in the video itself, along with the comment they made on it, in mere hours.

YouTube comments sections are nonetheless addictive, raising expectations of connection with other people but ultimately delivering an opposite sense of alienation. They are slightly intoxicating, like smoking cigarettes, yet in the end I only feel toxified, not intoxicated.

In conclusion, I strongly advise you to avoid YouTube comments sections unless you're looking for the sharing of factual information under a technology-related video. On the human side of things, most comments drag you down into a lower level of yourself. So much in modern society is doing that to us these days, but YouTube does it more quickly and intensely than most other aspects of society. As one of Robin Williams' movie characters said: "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone."

Thumbnail of user sebastianc103
4 reviews
4 helpful votes
January 26th, 2022

Unfortunately, YouTube has gone from a decent website, to a trash website to protect children from bullying. Like I understand why you'd want to do that, but PEOPLE UNDER 13 AREN'T MEANT TO HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Thumbnail of user nigeln
50 reviews
122 helpful votes
December 23rd, 2021

It was great for listening to music but today's Youtube has gotten worse. It took seven minutes to watch a two minute video. Youtube is filled with ads which I have to watch in its entirety. There's no longer an option of skipping the ad. There's also constant interruptions whenever I want to watch any video. Youtube is also incompatible with the Opera browser.

Thumbnail of user jamesp387
8 reviews
54 helpful votes
February 16th, 2020

Youtube fell down in terms of financial management when it sold it's soul to advertisers i. E company ads at the core of its business model. This inevitably affected the type and tone of new content, to "comply". Now i havent got a problem with companies, we all use them every day. So what's my grudge? Well, Gone are the days of uploading as you see fit. Authentic content like a long speech that ignores the drama of offending people and says it straight, this would not survive very long.

Yes, companies have money to share (and the vast majority are left wing bias). But guess what? Companies also try and dominate everything and make your life difficult before giving you a dime. Prying money out of companies is hard enough as an employee. Companies should have been kept out of the loop when it came to the tubes, the oppurtunity was there but was squandered when the paypal employees signed a deal with the Google devil, getting 1 billion for themselves, everyone else? Go fish! That seems to be how it played out

The business model should be social funding from users, like a pay as you go model i. E 5p to watch a video and more for the popular videos, this then gets collected into a central pot controlled by the webmaster exclusively and distributed according to best stats overall. Any leftover money is used to keep the site running and improve it. Youtube should been and independent company in itself instead of a yellow brick road for 3rd party endorsements. There was a lack of backbone from the beginning

If it was the case that a money management system could automate how uploaders get paid, there would never be a chance of demonetisation because it should have been a software program that naturally isn't politically bias. This also encourages a meritocracy on numbers instead of like/dislike of a persons character thus takes power away from narcissistic big company influence

Bartering for company cash is a terrible way of business. Companies just want to take money, not give, so everyone suffers rules according to the companies ethics and policies being a massive influence, because you have to please advertisers BEFORE the audience, now i am wise enough to see it, there is no longer a "fun" purpose about the website. All the good channels are banned.

But Thats the real reason why youtube sucks - corporatism and no longer being about you as an individual, now you're just a puppet having your strings pulled by the elite if you upload. You cannot do a video exactly the way you want without a social filter, heavy editing. To me thats just fake and nonsense.

It was a beautiful thing, ripe for corruption and destruction which is what has happened. It was good between 2005-2016 but now its time to seek an alternative where freedom of speech is respected and not shutdown because people disagree, regardless of how many disagree.

It is a fundamental human right to freely, express, without limitations or filters, one's point of view and youtube will not allow it. Find alternatives. I have i am spending more time on butchute and liveleak. While clunky at least the content is more "real"

Tip for consumers:
If you are a content creator, be prepared to brush up on your "acting" skills because reality and facts are not allowed. If you are a viewer, don't expect much post-#shorts era

Products used:
Can buy films individually in the movie section

Thumbnail of user louisi23
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 19th, 2020

The people on the site are what makes it. The people who make content and do great work to make entertaining things for anyone to watch for free are the whole of the site and now youtube has decided to put even more ads per each video as well as put them on videos that aren't being monetized by the creators themselves. On top of this the youtube staff is highly hypocritical as they will demonize videos for many things while also playing ads that are actively going against there terms of service. In my example I have reported many sexual explicit ads while some channels will lose there monetization for something as simple as swearing just for youtube to turn around and monetize it for themselves. I find what YouTube is doing is despicable considering anyone watching YouTube is there for the content created by others and YouTube has actively making the platform worse. I wish it wasnt like this and if these things where fixed I would give a five star review for the great people taking time from their own lives to make us content to enjoy for zero payment.

Thumbnail of user nunyab101
4 reviews
1 helpful vote
March 16th, 2021

GACHA, MOVIES, ETC, SO MANY THINGS ON HERE ARE INAPPROPIATE WE NEED TO TAKE THIS DOWN TO MUCH DRAMA TO MUCH INAPPROPRIATENESS JUST TO MUCH!

Tip for consumers:
DONT LOOK AT INAPPROPIATE THINGS OR BAD THINGS PLZ I LOKE IT WHEN ITS APPROPIATE NOT WHEN ITS LIKE THIS !!!!!

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user larrys1149
2 reviews
1 helpful vote
June 24th, 2021

My video will be playing along fine then they have to throw in a stupid comertial that you can skip after 5 seconds then my video will freeze. What is the point of the stupid add you can skip if you skip it then video will not play. About done with them.

Products used:
Youtube

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user tracih165
1 review
0 helpful votes
August 24th, 2022

Why is it necessary to see so many advertisements when watching a video or listening to music? Has You Tube even considered the fact that some customers are paying for minuites and the advertisements waste a lot of those minutes? This was once an excellent app but, now it is much like regular TV. I can't even listen to a few songs without seeing about 3 commercials after each song and sometimes in the middle of an extended version song... and don't try listening to a meditation video or instructional video... The ads actually discourage me from purchasing any goods or services from the businesses that use this medium for advertisement. Commercials are actually a source of irritation for someone trying to escape the chaos in the world. This is not fair to the customer. You Tube has a lot of great information but, it is losing its status... I would have given this application a 5 star rating but, the resentment from being forced to listen to "mandatory" advertisements while using minutes that I purchased with MY money will only allow me to give this application two stars. Currently, the You Tube experience is like having a lovely gourmet meal in a public bathroom. Hopefully, things will improve as I would love to be the first to write a 5 star review.

Tip for consumers:
In my opinion, there are a lot of ads.

Products used:
N/A

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user lk144
1 review
1 helpful vote
August 9th, 2020

I watch youtube almost every, single $#*!ing day. I use it when I'm sad, when I'm angry or happy. I watch videos of youtubers to get me in the joyful mood, but at the start of this week, it's all been blocked from me.
I am a danish citizen, ever since I was a kid I've been able to watch almost every single youtube video I could that wasn't demonitized, but now it's all $#*!ed.
I can't listen to the music that help me go through my day and you know what? It's not only the $#*!ing music that has been blocked, no.
Some videos that I have been able to watch for YEARS, has now been blocked for me. There were no copyrighted music in the video, there were nothing that could have gotten it blocked. Because other people I've spoken to online, are perfectly capable of watching it.

The $#*! is going on Youtube? Do you know how many people you're losing on your platform right now? Yes perhaps only one little small country full of millions, but it's not fair, that just because two companies had a disagreement, an entire population is now unable to watch what they used to love. I'm actually $#*!ing crying because of this. Me as a 15 year old, is not allowed to watch some videos, just because I'm $#*!ing Danish?
How about you get your $#*! together Youtube, and come to a fair agreement that doesn't harm a whole country, huh?

Thumbnail of user bonnier393
1 review
0 helpful votes
April 17th, 2022

I pay for YouTube Premium and YouTube TV. Both have been buffering repeatedly for just the last 6 months. Neither of them did this before. None of the "troubleshooting" recommendations work. Nothing else I stream has any problems whatsoever, only YouTube/YouTubeTV. I have sent in feedback on their feedback link many, many times, but they never respond or fix any of the problems. These problems are on their end, not mine. I have seen many comments from others with this same problem. You need to fix this, YouTube. But, of course, you don't think you have to. You do not give a damn about what anyone thinks of your products as long as you keep collecting your billions. This is so not right.

Products used:
video/TV

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user aarons1034
1 review
2 helpful votes
November 20th, 2022

Great app, but with great power should come with decent morals and responsibility! Why make so many ads, some of which encourages and promotes the evil of this world. Then let alone most of them being unskippable and on music even while people trying to drive. And then making the only way out of it by purchasing premium each month. Like?

Thumbnail of user johnn2260
3 reviews
0 helpful votes
September 18th, 2023

I signed up for You Tube just to get the NFL Sunday Ticket. I did that bc YouTube advertise every game every Sunday. Well not by a long shot. When you complain they just brush you off saying its their partners not them. Well if you collect my money THAN YOU provide the service. Just a rip off.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user veep16
1 review
3 helpful votes
August 28th, 2023

Would love to meet the "guidelines"crew. Obviously one criteria has to be short sighted and blind. Tons of sexual content, violent content, ect but you all decided to bother me for saying a kid should of got his butt taken care of for the foolish thing he did. Maybe you shouldn't allow the content. Block me for life I do not give a $#*!.

Thumbnail of user helens126
9 reviews
4 helpful votes
May 14th, 2019

It is one of the worst Internet services! Not user-friendly and has too many ads! And now it is also full of a low quality content. Who likes it?

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