YouTube Has a New Annual Recap

Taking a cue from YouTube Music and YouTube Gaming, YouTube as a whole is now finally introducing a Spotify Wrapped-style annual recap. Simply called YouTube Recap, this feature will break down your watching habits across all categories in 2025.

According to YouTube, YouTube Recap will show "a set of up to 12 different cards," with spotlights on "your top channels, interests, and even the evolution of your viewing habits." It'll draw its data from both long-form and short-form videos as well as downloaded videos, but it'll only track videos you watched while signed in to your account.

The company is also dividing its viewers into "personality types" based on what they watch, such as "the Trailblazer" or "the Skill Builder." There's a whole breakdown of what these mean over on a support page, but as an example, if you're a "Sunshiner," that means "You're drawn to content that spreads positivity and good vibes." Google says that the most common personality types this year were "the Sunshiner," "the Wonder Seeker," and "the Connector," and that personalities like "the Philosopher" and "the Dreamer" were more rare. So I guess you can brag about that if you get one of those.

If you listen to a lot of music on YouTube, meanwhile, YouTube Recap will also pull some data from YouTube Music, and can show you your top artists and songs of the year. For more detail, you'll need to visit the YouTube Music app and look at your YouTube Music recap proper.

YouTube Recap should be available in North America starting today, although it might take some time until you see it—I can't seem to access mine yet. For global viewers, YouTube says it will "roll out to the rest of the world this week." You'll be able to view it in 17 languages, with a full list available here.

I'll keep checking for mine throughout the day, but for now, here's how to find your YouTube Recap once it goes live.

How to view your YouTube Recap

According to YouTube's instructions, YouTube Recap is available on both desktop and in the mobile app, and will show up as a banner either on your homepage or in your "You" tab.

On mobile, you can get to your "You" tab by tapping the button in the bottom-right corner with your profile picture on it, while on desktop, you'll need to click the "You" subheading in the pane on the left-hand side of your screen. Or, you can just navigate to youtube.com/recap and let your browser do the work for you (if on mobile, it'll direct you to the appropriate section of the app).

Note that you'll need to be signed in for any of this to work. You might also need to update your YouTube app if you're still having trouble. Google says you need version 18.43 or newer to see your Recap.

Once you've viewed your recap, you'll also be able to share it, by tapping or clicking the Share button in any of your recap cards. Or, you can save it by tapping the download button to the left of the Share button.

YouTube's most popular topics and creators in 2025

Credit: YouTube

Alongside YouTube Recap, YouTube has also released a more general look at trending topics, creators, and songs in 2025. The most popular topic in 2025 was apparently Squid Game, while MrBeast was the top creator (I have a feeling those might be connected).

The Joe Rogan Experience is at the top of the podcast list, and interestingly, there are separate trending lists for shorts and full-length videos, with Forrest Frank's YOUR WAY'S BETTER topping Shorts and Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga's Die With a Smile taking the crown for full-length videos. KPop Demon Hunters is the only topic where you'll see overlap between the Shorts and full-length lists, with Soda Pop appearing on both.

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