YouTube Ditches Trending Page After Ten Years, Introduces Category Charts

YouTube will eliminate its standalone Trending page and Trending Now list on July 21, signaling a shift toward more tailored content discovery, accessible via its new YouTube Charts and enhanced recommendation tools.

Image: Meaghan (TeamYouTube)

YouTube Charts will now organize top content into distinct sections such as Music Videos, Podcast Episodes, and Movie Trailers while Gaming trends will remain available through an expanded Gaming Explore hub. These charts aim to reflect what’s popular within specific interests, replacing the broad Trending feed page.

The platform stated in its blog that “trends consist of many videos created by many fandoms,” and content discovery has grown more nuanced. YouTube will continue delivering personalized video suggestions on the Home page and Explore section, while non-personalized access will remain via creator channels and the subscriptions feed.

YouTube Creators will no longer see Trending as a go-to reference. Instead, they can rely on YouTube Studio’s Inspiration tab for personalized insight and the Hype feature, which lets viewers promote new uploads. Some critics argue that Trending favored content from large media brands over creators, prompting calls for fairer exposure tools.

Reactions are mixed. TechRadar observed users complaining Reddit that excessive ads, intrusive Shorts, and lack of support for smaller channels are more urgent issues than removing Trending.

The removal of the Trending page closes a decade-old chapter. Yet YouTube’s emphasis has clearly moved toward giving users and creators more customized pathways to follow trends.