YouTube now rewards your likes with fun animations

There are currently 20 animations customized for different genres, including sports, pets, and travel videos.

by Andrew Liszewski

Oct 30, 2025, 6:26 PM UTC

Andrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

YouTube has introduced a new like button on select videos that rewards your engagement with a brief animation. The feature was first announced in mid-October as part of a slate of updates that included UI changes to make the platform easier to navigate,

There are currently 20 different animations that are customized to the genre of the video you’re watching. If it’s a video about cars or auto racing, YouTube’s like button will briefly change to a spinning, smoking tire animation when clicked. If you’re watching something educational, the like button will instead turn into a shining lightbulb.

If you’re curious what all 20 animations look like and would rather not scour YouTube for videos across 20 different genres, Andreas Storm has shared two short videos on X featuring them all, as spotted by Android Authority. Yes, there are animations for dog and cat videos, but unfortunately none for cute baby clips yet.

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