YouTube Recap: What It Is, How to Find It, and Why Everyone’s Talking About It

YouTube has rolled out YouTube Recap, a new year-end feature that turns your 2025 viewing into a slick, shareable story. Arriving first in North America on December 2 and expanding globally this week, the tool packages your top channels, favorite topics, and watch-time patterns into a set of dynamic cards—similar in spirit to music-app roundups, but tailored to everything you watch.

YouTube Recap highlights at a glance

YouTube Recap assembles up to a dozen personalized cards that showcase:

• Your most-watched creators and channels

• Categories and topics you engaged with most

• How your interests shifted throughout the year

• Notable streaks, milestones, and “most-you” moments

• A playful “viewer personality” based on your habits (think skill-seeker, trend-chaser, positivity-lover, and more)

Each card is designed to be saved or shared as an image or short video, making it easy to post your year-in-watch on social platforms.

How to find your YouTube Recap on mobile and web

Many users will see a banner on the Home page or in the You tab inviting them to view their Recap. If you don’t see it, try the steps below:

1. Update the YouTube app to the latest version (Android or iOS).

2. Open the app and tap You at the bottom.

3. Look for “Your YouTube Recap is here!” and tap through.

4. On desktop, sign in at youtube.com; some users will see a Recap entry point on the homepage or in account menus.

5. If it’s still missing, give it time—rollout is phased and can take a day or two to reach all accounts.

Tip: Recap surfaces best when you’ve built a real watch history this year. If you frequently clear history or mostly watch while logged out, your cards may be sparse.

YouTube Recap vs. YouTube Music Recap

YouTube Music has offered an end-of-year view for several years. This new Recap is focused on video—all the channels, tutorials, reviews, vlogs, and documentaries that defined your screen time in 2025. If you use both services, you’ll effectively get two roundups:

• YouTube Recap (videos): creators, topics, viewing trends, and viewer personality.

• YouTube Music Recap (music): top artists, tracks, genres, listening moods, and shareable artwork.

Why “YouTube Recap” matters this year

The feature lands during peak “personalized-year-in-review” season, when timelines flood with stats and badges. For creators, Recap is a low-friction way fans can celebrate the channels they binged—expect to see creators resharing audience cards that feature their shows. For viewers, it’s a snapshot of how interests evolved: the rabbit holes you fell into, the skills you picked up, and the late-night genres that quietly climbed your chart.

It also marks a broader shift: year-end wrapups are no longer just for music listening. Video—often the biggest chunk of our media diet—now gets the same spotlight, with a format that encourages social sharing and friendly comparison.

Troubleshooting: “My YouTube Recap isn’t showing”

Early rollouts can be uneven. Here’s what helps most users:

• Check for updates: Install the latest YouTube app and sign out/in if needed.

• Try another device: Some see Recap on web first, others on mobile.

• Wait out the rollout: Availability is expanding region by region over several days.

• Confirm watch history settings: If watch history is paused or frequently cleared, your Recap may be limited.

Recent updates indicate some users still can’t access Recap even after updating; details may evolve as the rollout continues.

What YouTube is spotlighting beyond personal stats

Alongside personalized cards, YouTube is surfacing year-in-platform lists—trending topics, breakout creators, and the music and podcasts that shaped 2025. These editorial roundups help frame your personal Recap within the broader culture: which formats surged (longform explainers, daily vlogs, or quick-hit tutorials), which communities grew fastest, and which songs or shows became ubiquitous.

Pro tips to make your Recap share-worthy

• Save your favorite cards: Most Recap slides have a share button—export them as images or vertical clips.

• Tag the creators you watched most: It’s a great way to give shout-outs and start conversations.

• Compare with friends: Notice how your “viewer personality” differs and which channels overlap.

• Archive it: Recaps are seasonal; save your cards now so you can revisit them later.

What’s next for YouTube Recap

Expect tweaks as feedback rolls in—more metrics (total watch time, day-by-day patterns), deeper genre breakdowns, or new card styles are likely candidates. For 2025, the core experience is already live: a clean, fast recap of your year on YouTube that’s fun to share and surprisingly telling about the content that shaped your interests.

If your YouTube Recap hasn’t landed yet, keep an eye on the You tab and the homepage prompt over the coming days. Once it appears, it takes just a minute to relive your year—and a few taps to show it off.