YouTube launched YouTube Recap on December 2, 2025: a personalized year-end summary of viewing on the main YouTube service. It is the video platform’s counterpart to Spotify Wrapped, although “YouTube Wrapped” is only informal shorthand. The documented experience summarizes 2025 activity; there is no verified announcement in the supplied material of a separate 2026 Recap.
What YouTube Recap is
YouTube Recap is YouTube’s first annual review of a viewer’s activity across the main YouTube platform. It uses eligible, signed-in watch history to create a vertical, story-style sequence of up to 12 personalized cards. The cards are designed to browse, download and share.
YouTube says the launch initially began in North America and expanded globally during the week of December 2, 2025. The official announcement is available at YouTube’s launch announcement.
This is an individualized product, not a platform-produced annual video. It is therefore different from YouTube Rewind, the former series about broader YouTube culture.
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What the cards can show
The exact sequence depends on the account, viewing history, location and language. YouTube says Recap can include:
- Top channels
- Main interests and viewing themes
- How viewing habits evolved during the year
- Entertainment-style personality categories based on watched content
- Top artists and songs when the account has relevant music activity
- Individual cards that can be shared or downloaded
YouTube’s documented personality labels are Adventurer, Challenger, Changemaker, Connector, Creative Spirit, Curious Mind, Dreamer, Philosopher, Self-Improver and Serenity Seeker. These are viewing-preference categories, not psychological diagnoses, and not every viewer receives every category.
The result is a curated story rather than a complete data export or guaranteed minute-by-minute account of everything watched.
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How to find YouTube Recap
On an Android phone or iPhone
- Sign in to the YouTube app with the account whose history you want to review.
- Tap You at the bottom of the screen.
- Look for the Your YouTube Recap is here! banner.
- Tap the banner to open the cards.
YouTube’s Help documentation lists YouTube app version 18.43 or newer for the documented Recap experience. That version reference applies to the 2025 instructions and should not be treated as a permanent minimum for every later app release.
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- Sign in to the YouTube account containing the relevant watch history.
- Open youtube.com/recap.
YouTube also says the experience may appear on the homepage or under the You tab. The launch guide with these access paths is at YouTube’s Recap guide.
YouTube Recap versus YouTube Music Recap
These are separate products. The main Recap covers general video viewing, while YouTube Music Recap is the deeper summary for listening activity in the YouTube Music app.
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| Feature | YouTube Recap | YouTube Music Recap |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Videos and Shorts watched on YouTube | Music listening |
| Access | YouTube app or youtube.com/recap | YouTube Music app |
| Data source | Eligible YouTube watch history | YouTube Music listening activity |
| Typical output | Channels, interests, viewing patterns and personality cards | Deeper artist, song, genre and listening summaries |
Music information may appear in the main YouTube Recap, but YouTube’s launch guide says viewers with at least 10 hours of music activity on YouTube could receive a link to the deeper YouTube Music summary.
What counts toward the documented 2025 Recap
YouTube’s Help page says eligible activity could include:
- Long-form videos
- YouTube Shorts
- Viewing on a signed-in phone, computer or TV
- Downloaded videos
YouTube TV viewing and Primetime Channels content were excluded. Activity watched while signed out, under a different account or on another profile may not appear in the result.
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For the documented 2025 experience, YouTube required enough eligible history from January through late October 2025. The Help page also describes availability in more than 185 countries and 17 languages, so access and card types can differ by location and language.
Why YouTube Recap may be missing
A missing banner does not automatically mean the account is broken. Common eligibility and availability reasons include:
- There was not enough eligible watch history during the required period.
- Watch history was paused.
- Automatic deletion removed older viewing activity.
- The account is supervised, a child account or below the applicable local minimum age.
- The user is signed out or using a Brand-account delegate.
- The feature is unavailable for the account’s region or language.
- The user is checking YouTube Music instead of the main YouTube app.
- The seasonal access window has ended.
YouTube’s launch guide said the Recap was available through the You tab until the end of 2025. Because the documented requirements are tied to the 2025 viewing period, an old Recap may no longer be accessible in 2026 even when the account was eligible at launch.
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- Confirm that you are signed in to the intended personal YouTube account.
- Open the You tab in the main YouTube app, not YouTube Music.
- Try youtube.com/recap on a computer.
- Update the YouTube app.
- Check whether watch history was paused or automatically deleted in Google account settings.
- Check supervision, age and account-type restrictions.
- Consider the region, language and the possibility that the seasonal window has ended.
Why a Recap can look incomplete or different
Recap reflects only eligible activity attached to the signed-in account. Paused or auto-deleted history, switching between accounts, watching while signed out and using excluded services can all make the cards differ from your own memory of the year.
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Two viewers can also receive different numbers or types of cards. YouTube says the experience varies with watch history, location and language, so a friend’s personality card or statistic is not a required part of every account’s Recap.
Sharing and saving cards
Use Share on an individual card to send it to an app or social network. Use Download to save that card to the device and share it elsewhere. Cards are handled individually rather than as one guaranteed complete video.
Does YouTube Premium unlock more Recap data?
No Premium subscription is identified as a requirement or enhancement in YouTube’s eligibility information. The relevant conditions are retained watch history, account status, age, location, language and the availability period.
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What the launch means
YouTube is extending the annual personalized-recap format beyond music to the wider ways people use its service: documentaries, education, tutorials, commentary, podcasts, gaming, entertainment and Shorts. It complements rather than replaces Spotify Wrapped, because the two products summarize different kinds of activity.
For the latest official eligibility and inclusion details, see YouTube Help. Independent launch coverage is also available from TechCrunch and TechRadar.
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