Use These Gestures to Flip Through YouTube Videos
Tapping the screen is for suckers. If you really want to navigate the YouTube app on Android and iOS, there are four gestures to be aware of, and chances are good that you’ve stumbled upon one (or most) of them during your daily YouTube binges.
Swipe down to exit full screen mode and minimize the video.
YouTube’s newest gesture allows you to swipe down to close a video while watching it in full screen. You can still click the minimize button to exit full screen mode, but swiping down is much more convenient.
When you are not in full screen mode, swiping down will also minimize the video you are currently watching, freeing up the screen so you can search and watch other channels.
Swipe right / swipe left to switch between videos
If you’re watching a video with autoplay enabled, or viewing an entire video playlist, swiping to the right will skip to the next video, and swiping to the left will take you back to the previous one. The app remembers how far you were in the video, so if you accidentally skip ahead and swipe to return, you’ll immediately pick up where you left off.
Double tap to skip video
Double-tapping the left or right edge of the video will fast forward or rewind the video by a few seconds. By default, the app skips / rewinds 10 seconds per double tap, but you can change the shift time in the app settings.
Just make sure you’re pointing exactly where you touched – it’s easy to accidentally pause or skip to the next video.
Swipe up to view related videos in full screen
If you’re watching full screen and don’t want to minimize the video, to see a list of related and featured videos, just swipe up. This brings up a semi-transparent overlay with a small set of related content while the video you’re watching continues to play in the background. Tap one of the recommended videos to switch to it. Swiping down will close the suggestions window.