YouTube replaces notes in videos with ‘cards’ and ‘end screens’

Users who upload YouTube videos will no longer be able to annotate videos from May. The reason for the annotations to be discontinued is that they don’t work on mobile devices, while users are now watching most videos on a mobile device.

Uploaders can still annotate videos until May 2, but after that it is no longer possible, YouTube writes in a blog post. Existing notes will still work, provided users view the videos on desktop, of course.

YouTube is replacing the annotations with the End Screens, which can already be seen in many videos, and Cards, which allow users to put information in the picture, on both desktop and mobile. Cards have been working for two years. According to the video site, users are seven times more likely to click a Card than a note. The ability to add notes has been available since 2008.

When notes first came around, some videos used them profusely