Does 'Not interested' beat 'Don't recommend channel'?

Quick answer

Someone in a discussion about fixing YouTube recommendations argued that Not interested is the more effective button, because it targets the keywords behind a video, while Don't recommend channel only blocks one channel. It sounds reasonable. We looked for data.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

What the data says

Mozilla studied over 500 million recommendations from about 22,700 volunteers in 2022. Compared with doing nothing, Don't recommend channel prevented about 43% of unwanted recommendations, removing a video from watch history about 29%, Dislike about 12%, and Not interested about 11% (Mozilla's 2022 study, The New York Times).

So in that study, the claim runs the other way. Don't recommend channel came out ahead, even for similar videos from other channels.

Where the claim has a point

Mozilla found every button had limited effect. Lots of unwanted videos still got through.
Don't recommend channel doesn't help when the topic is spread across many channels.
Volunteers in the study weren't a random sample of YouTube users.

What to do

Use Don't recommend channel on repeat offenders (YouTube Help).
Remove the videos that started it from your watch history.
Use Not interested too. It's small, but it helps a bit.
Or pause history entirely. See pause watch history.

How 125x fits

125x skips the recommendation fight. Your feed is only the channels you subscribe to, with a summary on every video.

FAQ: questions people ask

Does Not interested work on YouTube?

A little. Mozilla's 2022 study found it prevented about 11% of unwanted recommendations.

Which YouTube button removes unwanted recommendations best?

In Mozilla's study, Don't recommend channel did best at about 43%, followed by removing videos from watch history.

Why do unwanted videos keep showing up?

Mozilla found YouTube's controls have limited effect. Removing the source videos from history helps.