This guide will help you get the most out of YouTube, understand the platform's algorithm and gain visibility for your best videos.

With the launch of YouTube in 2005 and Netflix streaming in 2007, algorithms —not people—began directing our viewing. These recommendations can be fun.

But there’s an alternative. A saner way to watch YouTube videos that you actually really do want to watch, without getting sucked into the YouTube black hole of recommended content.

Category filters, playlists, and even account switching can get you better results than whatever YouTube shovels at you.

YouTube explains how its Shorts algorithm recommends quality videos viewers want, not those aimed at exploiting the system.

YouTube has two billion active monthly users and uploads 500 hours of content every minute. Twenty five percent of U.S. adults get their news from YouTube, and 60% of regular users “use the platform ...