YouTube is replacing its annoying video annotations with a new "cards" system that looks a bit classier albeit more obstructive. Here's what you can expect to see on both desktops and mobile devices moving forward.
For content creators, the big difference between annotations and cards is that they also work on mobile devices. As before, they can be used to inform viewers about other videos, merchandise, playlists, websites and more. And just like annotations, cards can be set to surface anytime during a video.
YouTube currently offers six types of cards: Associated Website, Fan Funding, Fundraising, Merchandise, Playlist and Video. Content creators will find a new cards tab in the video editor.
The Google-owned company said that because they work across desktop and mobile, cards will ultimately replace annotations. That won't happen until they can do everything that annotations can and there's currently no timeline as to when the replacement will go into effect.
For video viewers, cards are the natural progression of annotations. They look nicer than the plain Jane annotations you're used to although they do hamper viewing a bit. Hopefully, content creators will use them sparingly although if current usage of annotations are any indication, that's probably little more than wishful thinking.
The good news is that cards can be disabled, just like annotations - something that I'm willing to bet many people weren't aware of. The option to turn them off can be found in YouTube's settings menu under the playback category.