14 votes

Disabling Auto-Zoom in the YouTube app (iOS)

Posted by nukeman
Tags: social media, ios, ask.help, youtube, apps, features, iphone, tech support

Hey y’all,

YouTube recently decided to put a feature into the app which zooms in to fill the screen more and reduce the dark space. There’s apparently settings for the android app, but I can’t seem to find any way to disable if for iOS. Does anyone have any suggestions? It’s incredibly annoying and distracting when watching videos.

13 comments

  1. [7]
    DrStone
    Link
    Click the “You” in the bottom right. Click the gear icon in the top right. Scroll down to “Video and audio preferences” section, click “Playback”. Turn off “Zoom to fill screen”.

    Click the “You” in the bottom right.
    Click the gear icon in the top right.
    Scroll down to “Video and audio preferences” section, click “Playback”.
    Turn off “Zoom to fill screen”.

    5 votes
    1. [6]
      nukeman
      Link Parent
      Doesn’t appear. Here’s what my screen looks like when I go to that setting.

      Doesn’t appear.

      Here’s what my screen looks like when I go to that setting.

      1 vote
      1. [5]
        DrStone
        Link Parent
        Huh. Mine looks like this I have the zoom setting, but no picture-in-picture. iPhone 11 Pro iOS 18.6.2 YouTube 20.5.32

        Huh. Mine looks like this

        I have the zoom setting, but no picture-in-picture.

        iPhone 11 Pro
        iOS 18.6.2
        YouTube 20.5.32

        3 votes
        1. [4]
          nukeman
          Link Parent
          iPhone SE iOS 18.6.2 YouTube 20.35.2

          iPhone SE
          iOS 18.6.2
          YouTube 20.35.2

          1 vote
          1. [3]
            cfabbro
            (edited )
            Link Parent
            Hmmm. I have an iPhone 16 with iOS 18.6.2, YouTube 20.35.2, and I see the "Zoom to fill screen" option too. The only notable difference I can think of between us is that the iPhone 11 Pro and 16...

            Hmmm. I have an iPhone 16 with iOS 18.6.2, YouTube 20.35.2, and I see the "Zoom to fill screen" option too.

            The only notable difference I can think of between us is that the iPhone 11 Pro and 16 both have Super Retina screens with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, and the SE is a regular Retina with 16:9. So I suspect the setting might only be available as an option for phones with 19.5:9 screens? That kinda makes sense since YouTube itself generally uses 16:9 for its videos so the zoom should largely be unnecessary for screens with the same aspect ratio.

            What's weird is that you're experiencing the auto-zoom to begin with since your phone's screen and most YouTube videos should be the exact same aspect ratio so there shouldn't be any dark space around them. And I'm pretty sure the auto-zoom option is disabled by default too. I never enabled or disabled it, and it was disabled in my YouTube app settings when I checked.

            5 votes
            1. [2]
              umbrae
              Link Parent
              I’m on 20.35.2 with iOS 18.6.2 with an iPhone 16 pro and I also don’t see this setting. I’m gonna guess this is a coordinated rollout or A/B test.

              I’m on 20.35.2 with iOS 18.6.2 with an iPhone 16 pro and I also don’t see this setting. I’m gonna guess this is a coordinated rollout or A/B test.

              5 votes
              1. cfabbro
                Link Parent
                Ah. F'n A/B tests... they always make things like this so damn confusing/frustrating. :/

                Ah. F'n A/B tests... they always make things like this so damn confusing/frustrating. :/

                4 votes
  2. [2]
    LumaBop
    Link
    Doesn’t fix it happening automatically (which sounds very annoying), but can you use a pinch gesture zoom out?

    Doesn’t fix it happening automatically (which sounds very annoying), but can you use a pinch gesture zoom out?

    3 votes
    1. nukeman
      Link Parent
      It does, but I’m really looking for an automatic solution.

      It does, but I’m really looking for an automatic solution.

      1 vote
  3. [4]
    tomf
    Link
    how do you block ads / sponsorblock with the app? i think we can only do it with safari.

    how do you block ads / sponsorblock with the app? i think we can only do it with safari.

    2 votes
    1. [3]
      nukeman
      Link Parent
      What? My post doesn’t mention anything about Adblock or sponsor block?

      What? My post doesn’t mention anything about Adblock or sponsor block?

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        tomf
        Link Parent
        just curious. I assumed you were blocking ads. Tag it as off topic :)

        just curious. I assumed you were blocking ads. Tag it as off topic :)

        2 votes
        1. nukeman
          Link Parent
          No, although I do have YouTube premium. So one would think they’d have the on/off setting enabled…

          No, although I do have YouTube premium. So one would think they’d have the on/off setting enabled…

          3 votes