YouTube Unveils First-ever “Recap” Feature to Chronicle 2025 Viewing Habits

Credits: YouTube Official Blog

YouTube introduced its first personalized Recap feature on December 2, 2025, providing users with a shareable summary of their viewing habits from the past year.

The rollout began in North America and extends worldwide over the week, accessible through the homepage or the "You" tab on mobile and desktop devices.

The feature generates up to 12 cards highlighting top channels watched, key interests, changes in viewing patterns over time, and a personality type assigned based on content consumed, such as Sunshiner for those drawn to feel-good videos or Wonder Seeker for exploratory watchers.

Users who listened to music on the platform also receive details on top artists, songs, genres, podcasts, and global listening trends through the YouTube Music app. 

YouTube developed the Recap after nine rounds of user feedback testing and evaluating over 50 concepts, incorporating Gemini AI technology to analyze patterns in its video library.

"After digging into how we all watch YouTube, we didn’t just see data — we saw personalities, from the Adventurer or Skill Builder, to the Creative Spirit, and so many more... the most common personality types were the Sunshiner, the Wonder Seeker and the Connector, with 'the Philosopher and the Dreamer ending up as the more elusive and rare personas,'" according to a statement from YouTube.

The company positioned the feature as a response to user requests for a year-end review similar to those on other platforms. 

Spotify Wrapped, which the YouTube Recap emulates, originated as a marketing campaign in December 2016, building on a 2015 precursor called "Year in Music." It compiles users' top five artists, songs, and genres from the prior year, presented in a shareable, story-like format within the app.

Over the years, Spotify added features like podcast metrics in 2020, quizzes, personalized playlists, and digital badges for premium subscribers, along with social media integrations such as filters and challenges.

The campaign has drawn millions of shares annually, with over 1.2 million posts on Twitter in December 2019 alone, earning Webby Awards in 2020 for music, data visualization, and viral marketing.

Spotify competitors, including YouTube Music, responded with their own versions; YouTube Music offered a music-focused Recap for the past three years before the main platform's expansion in 2025. 

YouTube previously produced an annual Rewind video series from 2011 to 2021, featuring top creators and trends, but discontinued it in 2021 because a single video could not capture the full scope of its community.

The new Recap shifts to individualized summaries, allowing users to save and share cards that could increase visibility for creators featured in them.