YouTube will soon let Android users switch off that annoying Auto Zoom feature (APK teardown)

Android Authority

4 days ago

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR A few weeks back, YouTube's Android app introduced a new Auto Zoom feature that automatically zooms in on videos in landscape mode, with no way of turning it off in settings.
Auto Zoom is separate from the 'Zoom to fill screen' option and activates inconsistently, causing frustration amongst YouTube users.
Thankfully, YouTube is preparing to add a new toggle in the app's settings to turn off Auto Zoom.
A few weeks ago, users began noticing a new Auto Zoom feature in the YouTube app for Android. This feature activates automatically, with no need to enable it manually in the app's settings. Unfortunately, what it does can be quite frustrating. When you switch to landscape mode, Auto Zoom zooms in on the video to fill the entire screen by dynamically adjusting the frame. The issue is that it crops the edges of the video, cutting out content, and worse, it can't currently be disabled in settings. Well, it looks like a solution might be on the way.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
It's important to note that Auto Zoom is not the same as YouTube's existing 'Zoom to fill screen' option found under playback settings. When enabled, 'Zoom to fill screen' ensures videos always fill the entire screen in full-screen mode. Auto Zoom, however, activates even when 'Zoom to fill screen' is turned off in settings, and it doesn't kick in on every video. There's no clear pattern for when or why Auto Zoom appears on a video.
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When Auto Zoom does activate, users see a pill-shaped 'Auto Zoom' button overlayed on top of the video in landscape mode. The video slowly zooms in to fill the screen, and the only way to stop it is by tapping that pill to revert to the original view. Again, this doesn't happen on all videos. Personally, I have never encountered Auto Zoom in my YouTube app on Android, but many users have, and they've been voicing their annoyance ever since. The good news is that change is coming.
Code Copy Text Settings Auto zoom is on. You can turn this off in settings.
We've found code strings in the YouTube app (version 20.32.32) suggesting that Google is preparing to introduce a manual toggle to disable Auto Zoom. Based on the layout files, this new option will likely appear just below the existing 'Zoom to fill screen' setting in the Playback section of the app.
There's no word yet on when this setting will roll out, but for those who find Auto Zoom disruptive, it's a promising sign that relief is on the way.
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