Katarzyna Petru
YouTube Music has started testing an option that should have been in the app from day one of its existence — searching within playlists. A simple feature, yet it has been one of the biggest shortcomings compared to the competition for years.
The first signals appeared on Reddit. A user from India discovered a new option “Find in Playlist” in version 8.45.3 on iOS, allowing users to finally search their own playlists. Unfortunately, the feature does not yet include saved “radios”.
And here’s where the fun begins: even though we are talking about the official version of the app, most people — both on Android and iOS — do not see this option at all. We also checked the same version in India and… nothing. Zero. Google typically launches a very narrow A/B test before showing something to the world.
Feature that should have been in the app a long time ago
Sounds like a trivial matter? Probably. But if you have playlists with hundreds or thousands of tracks, you know how frustrating it was to manually sift through them.
Until now, the only method of searching in playlists was… browser extensions on desktop. In the mobile app, it wasn't even possible to create the simplest filter.
That's why this move is a true “finally” for many users.
How will it work when it finally reaches everyone?
After full implementation, the “Find in Playlist” option should appear in the menu with three dots next to each playlist. You click, type in a track, artist, or phrase — and it's done.
Zero endless scrolling, zero guessing where a particular song has “hidden itself”.
It's a small feature, but for people with large playlists, it can completely change the way they use YouTube Music.
