YouTube’s Creator Insider gives updates on blocking, Shorts Fund

On the Creator Insider channel, members of the YouTube Creator Team often venture into deep detail as they describe the latest innovations coming to their platform. In contrast, a recent “Newsflash Appetizer” was one of the channel’s briefest updates yet — but that doesn’t mean it was insubstantial.

The 42-second video revealed a pair of news items that should pique the creator community’s collective interest. It’s now easier to block abusive viewers and spam accounts; also, recipients of the latest round of Shorts Fund payments have been notified about their earnings.

The change to the blocking system eliminates a 48-hour delay that was previously part of the process. The waiting period was initially included so that creators could easily reverse their decisions when they accidentally blocked one of their fans. A side effect of that decision was that spammers and flamers could stick around on a channel even after they had been barred from it.

Several frustrated users appealed to the Creator Insider channel, and the Creator Team quickly announced that it was working on a change to its blocking system. That update is now live, and when you block a user from your channel, the bad should go into effect immediately.

The other update announced in the Newsflash Appetizer is even more straightforward. Users who will be getting payouts from the year-old Shorts Fund should have received notifications from YouTube about it. It is interesting to compare the way YouTube pays short-form creators to the way TikTok does it. While YouTube has an orderly method for doling out Shorts Fund money, TikTok’s Creator Fund has been a bit more hectic. Recently, several TikTokers complained about a glitch that prevented them from claiming their payouts, even though their viewership was high enough for them to qualify.

To read more of our coverage of the Creator Insider channel, click here.