This release brings YT Zero to the big screen (tested only on tvOS), gives you smarter control over channel syncing, and makes family viewing smoother and safer.
Watch YT Zero on TV
Meet the new TV app: a remote-first experience built for the living room. Browse your feed, channels, Shorts, bookmarks, followed playlists, and search results from the couch; open video details, manage your profile, and use a session queue without reaching for another device.
On Apple TV, the app can discover YT Zero instances on your local network, then securely pair using the existing QR or manual code flow. Native playback supports resume progress, completion tracking, queue playback, and the profile rules you already use on the web. The new interface has been carefully tuned for remote focus, large-screen readability, accessibility settings, and a polished TV-native feel.
Choose how channels stay fresh
Channel pages can now refresh automatically when you open them. Choose the depth that fits your library:
- Off leaves channel pages unchanged.
- Recent uploads performs a quick check for the newest videos.
- Full history performs a deeper sync to find older content too.
Full channel syncs now follow paginated video history, so YT Zero can keep working through a channel’s complete back catalogue rather than stopping at the first page.
Better family download requests
Children using download-only profiles can now ask for a video directly from its watch page when it is not available offline. A parent can approve or decline the request from YT Zero, with PIN protection where configured; approval starts the download and unlocks playback when it is ready.
Parents can also opt to auto-approve requests from followed channels—or every request—and receive notifications for requests that need attention.
Keep watched videos in your feeds
Prefer to keep a complete view of what your subscriptions publish? A new setting lets watched videos remain in feeds, retaining their watched styling and full progress bar instead of disappearing.
Safer YouTube cookies
When YouTube stops recognizing an uploaded cookie session, YT Zero now protects the original cookie file instead of overwriting it with anonymous visitor cookies. Your existing session remains intact until you replace it with a fresh export.
Worth a look
- Global caption settings now reliably keep captions off when that is your preference.
- Fullscreen keyboard handling is more reliable on the watch page.
- Player focus and interaction details have been refined for a smoother overall viewing experience.
Full Changelog: 2026.09.8...2026.09.9