Google is trying again to cut down on YouTube comment spam

Dive into the comments below any YouTube video and it's not always the most pleasant of reading experiences, but the site is introducing new measures to try and cut down on the number of unwanted spam comments that get left below the line.

YouTube is targeting comments that include links, which are typically just unrelated plugs for sites that you're best off avoiding - these linked sites are often just spam pages or sites that will try and install adware or more on your computer as soon as you load them up.

A new setting for video creators enables all comments containing hashtags and URLs to be held for review before they're published, so uploaders can approve or block them as required. If they never get reviewed, then the comments never appear on the site.

Comment review

When you think about the millions of views racked up by some of the most popular YouTube videos, with kids often making up a large proportion of those view counts, it's an issue that needs tackling - though it's by no means a new problem on YouTube.

The new setting can be found by following the Community then the Community settings links inside the Creator Studio portal. Activating the option doesn't retroactively block older comments, so you may need to go back and delete some of them manually.

Meanwhile, Google has also announced that it's pulling the built-in video editor and photo slideshow tools from YouTube as it tries to streamline the service. The tools will remain available on the site until September 20.