Where Did the YouTube Subscriptions Tab Go? How Custom Feeds Work

YouTube has moved the Subscriptions tab out of the bottom bar on Android and iOS. It now appears as "Subs" in a row at the top of Home. YouTube also added custom feeds, which you build by describing what you want to watch, and which are rolling out first to signed-in viewers in the US.

This explainer is for anyone who opened YouTube this week and wondered where a button went. It covers what moved, how custom feeds work, what limits apply and how to keep control of your recommendations. Oddworldz explains the little mysteries of the apps and devices we use every day, and an interface change is one of the most common mysteries of all.

What Moved and What the Bottom Bar Looks Like Now

According to iGeeksBlog's walkthrough, the bottom bar on Android and iOS now holds four items: Home, Shorts, Create and You. The Subscriptions tab is renamed Subs and sits second in a row at the top of Home, after Home itself. The row also includes Live and Music feeds.

A Movies and TV feed appears only if you have a paid add-on such as Primetime Channels. The same walkthrough says the slide-out navigation menu is gone. If you cannot find something you used to open from that menu, check the top row of Home or the You tab.

The change was first reported on October 22, 2026, and Business Upturn's coverage says the Subscriptions tab had sat in the bottom bar since 2017. YouTube has described the updates as part of efforts to create "a more seamless Home experience." It has not said when the new bar will reach everyone.

Why Does My YouTube Look Different From a Friend's?

Changes like this roll out in stages. A company turns a feature on for a small group first, watches for problems and then widens the group. One account can have the new bar while another still shows the old one.

Coverage also differs on how final the layout is. One outlet describes it as a test, while most describe a rollout. That is common in the early days of a change. Our guide on why your phone does not have the update yet explains how phased rollouts work and why you cannot force one.

If your screen still shows the old layout, there is nothing to fix. Updating the app helps a little, but the server decides when your account gets the new design.

What Are Custom Feeds and How Do You Make One?

A custom feed is a feed you create by describing what you want to see. Tap the plus button at the top of Home, describe a topic, a type of video or a mood, and YouTube builds a dedicated feed that keeps adding new videos. Each feed gets its own tab, and you can edit the prompt later.

One outlet's example is a request for guided meditations under ten minutes to unwind after work. The feed ignores which channels you subscribe to, according to that report. That is the big difference from the Subs feed, which is built around channels you chose.

The reports we found do not detail how YouTube turns a prompt into a feed. The company has not explained the model behind it in the coverage we read, so treat any claim about how it works under the hood as a guess. What we can say is what it does for you: you describe, it fills a feed.

Who Can Use Custom Feeds, and What Are the Limits?

The feature is rolling out to a limited group first. Business Upturn reports that users must be signed in, use English and have watch and search history enabled. The initial rollout is in the US, on mobile and desktop, for viewers aged 13 and older.

The expiry rule is easy to miss. A feed you stop using disappears after 30 days, so save a note of prompts you like. If you build a feed for a short project, such as a trip or a recipe week, it will clean itself up.

Like other features that depend on a prompt, a feed will not be perfect on the first try. Rewrite the prompt with more detail if the results feel off, the same way you would refine a search.

Will Custom Feeds Change Your Regular Recommendations?

They can. iGeeksBlog reports that videos you watch in a custom feed count toward your watch history and can affect your main Home feed. That matters if you build a feed for something you do not normally watch, such as a one-off topic for a gift or a school project.

YouTube's own page on how recommendations work says the system draws on viewing behavior, likes, dislikes, subscriptions and feedback, including satisfaction surveys. It also says people can pause, edit or delete their search and watch history whenever they want.

That gives you three practical controls.

Pausing history also affects custom feeds, since the feature needs watch and search history enabled. That is a trade-off worth knowing before you flip the switch.

A Five-Minute Tour to Try It Yourself

If the new layout has reached your account, a short test will show you what changed. Set aside five minutes and work through these steps.

Start with a low-stakes topic, such as ten-minute stretching routines or recipes you can make with five ingredients. A small experiment tells you whether the feature suits you before you rely on it.

What viewers and creators may notice

Moving Subs out of the bottom bar probably means fewer accidental taps on it. For channels you follow, the shift could change how often you open their latest uploads. It is too early to measure, and YouTube has not shared data on the effect.

Creators may see small changes in where their videos appear. A custom feed pulls videos by topic, not by subscription, so a new channel can show up in a feed even if the viewer never subscribed. We have no numbers on this yet, and we will not guess at them.

Why Would YouTube Make This Change?

YouTube has not explained its reasoning beyond a "more seamless Home experience," so we can only offer a reasonable guess. Putting channels you chose in a smaller row and giving prime space to prompt-built feeds suggests the company wants Home to feel more personal and active.

That is our reading, not a statement from YouTube. It fits a wider trend, where apps move from lists you manage to feeds that respond to what you type. The same trend shows up in AI features across phones, and it comes with limits and quirks, as our piece on why Siri AI has a daily usage limit on iPhone shows.

Prompt-built feeds also have a known weakness: they tend to hand you more of what you asked for. Our explainer on why chatbots cave when you ask are you sure covers how systems that try to please can narrow your view. A feed that only shows what you described will never show you what you did not know to ask for.

How to get your old habit back

If you miss the old tab, the fix is small. Open Home, tap Subs in the top row, and use it as before. Some people find it easier to keep the YouTube app on its first screen and use the Subs row as a fresh start every time.

At Oddworldz, our editors suggest giving the new layout two weeks before deciding. Habits change slowly, and a few days of fumbling is normal. If it still annoys you after two weeks, tell YouTube through the in-app feedback option, which is how these changes sometimes get adjusted.

Conclusion

The Subscriptions tab did not vanish. It moved to a "Subs" row at the top of Home, and a new custom feeds feature arrived alongside it. Both are rolling out in stages, so what you see may differ from what a friend sees.

If you try a custom feed, remember the limits, the 30-day expiry and the effect on your watch history. This article reflects public reports current as of October 28, 2026. YouTube has not published every detail, and the layout may change as the rollout continues.