YouTube Subscriptions Tab May Disappear From the Mobile App in Latest Test

The YouTube Subscriptions tab might soon look very different on your phone, and longtime users may need to retrain their thumbs. A new design experiment appears to be removing the dedicated Subscriptions button from the bottom navigation bar, and early impressions suggest it is not a popular move.

What Is Actually Changing

YouTube has never been shy about reworking its app, but this latest test touches a part of the interface that millions of people rely on daily. Instead of sitting comfortably in the bottom navigation bar, the Subscriptions feed is being shifted upward into a new secondary menu placed just beneath the YouTube logo.

When the experimental layout appears, the bottom bar no longer includes a Subscriptions shortcut. In its place, the feed lives within a row of options near the top of the screen. That row also includes the usual home page filters such as “Music” and “New to You,” along with a second “Home” tab that sits oddly alongside the Home button still present in the bottom bar.

Tapping Subscriptions in this new arrangement still loads the familiar list of videos from creators you follow. The content itself does not change. What changes is where you reach for it and how many taps it takes to get there.

A Swipeable Feed Experience

According to YouTube, the goal is to create a more fluid browsing experience. The company has described the test as a shift in placement, moving the Subscriptions feed from the bottom of the screen to the top as part of a new swipeable layout that blends the Subscriptions and Home feeds together.

In theory, swiping between feeds could feel smooth and modern. In practice, the redesign raises a familiar concern: phones keep getting taller, and the top of the display is increasingly awkward to reach with one hand. For anyone who opens the app specifically to check new uploads from favorite channels, that extra stretch is a real downgrade.

Why the Redesign Feels Like a Step Backward

The biggest frustration here is not just the relocation. It is how little the average viewer seems to gain in return.

For people who treat Subscriptions as their main entry point into YouTube, this change demotes the feature they use most. Moving it out of easy reach signals a shift in priorities, and not necessarily one that benefits the person holding the phone.

The most noticeable addition is a reworked center button. The Plus icon that many users instinctively avoid would get its own dedicated spot, now labeled “Create.” That wording hints at something more ambitious than the simple TikTok-style camera shortcut available today. It suggests YouTube may be leaning toward AI-assisted creation tools, possibly tied to its ongoing experiments with AI-powered remixing for Shorts.

Even so, a relabeled button does not offset the inconvenience of burying a core navigation feature. For viewers who rarely upload anything, the trade-off feels lopsided.

How Stable Is the Test Right Now?

The good news for skeptical users is that this layout does not appear ready for a wide release.

In hands-on testing, the new design behaved inconsistently. Switching between multiple accounts, both Premium and standard, did not reliably keep the experimental interface active. On one main profile, the app started glitching entirely. The new combined Home and Subscriptions selector vanished, leaving no visible way to open the Subscriptions feed at all.

Closing and reopening the app restored the standard, widely available layout. After that, the experimental version did not return. That kind of unstable behavior usually points to an early-stage test rather than a polished feature on the verge of launch.

Could Google I/O Change Everything?

Timing adds a twist to the story. The discovery landed right before Google I/O, the company’s major annual developer event, where surprise announcements are common.

It is always possible that a single onstage mention could push this redesign forward faster than expected. Still, that outcome seems unlikely. Recent editions of Google I/O have leaned heavily toward Gemini and broader AI initiatives, leaving less spotlight for incremental app interface tweaks like this one.

In other words, a sudden rollout is not impossible, but it is not the most probable scenario either.

What Subscriptions-First Users Should Do

If you rely on the Subscriptions feed as your primary way to browse YouTube, this is worth watching closely. The change is still experimental, which means user feedback genuinely matters at this stage.

Here is what you can do if you want your voice heard:

• Check whether your app shows the new top-mounted Subscriptions and Home selector.
• If you see it, use the in-app feedback options to share your honest reaction.
• Pay attention to whether the layout sticks or disappears after restarting the app.
• Compare the experience across any other devices or accounts you use.

For now, the familiar bottom-bar Subscriptions button remains the default for most people. Whether that stays true depends partly on how loudly users respond while the test is still in progress.

The Bottom Line

YouTube redesigns are nothing new, but moving the Subscriptions tab strikes at the heart of how many people actually use the app. The proposed swipeable feed and the upgraded Create button hint at where YouTube wants to go, yet the current version of the test offers little obvious payoff for everyday viewers. Until YouTube commits to a final direction, Subscriptions-first users would be wise to keep an eye on their app and speak up if the new layout appears.