YouTube is one of the most viewed streaming platforms today thanks to its vast library of content and creators. YouTube also serves as a great platform for new creators to get their creations out into the world. If you’ve been using YouTube for a while, you’ve probably come across a blue dot on some of the videos on YouTube. Let’s take a quick look at it.

The blue dot on YouTube often appears next to your subscriptions and this means that there is new content available from that specific creator. If you see a blue dot, it is likely that the channel in question has recently posted new content. It could be a new video, a post in the Community tab, or even a live stream. You can check it via your notifications if you are subscribed to the channel or via the homepage of the channel itself.

The red dot on YouTube is quite controversial and is often used to indicate banned, shadowbanned or disabled channels. The red dot essentially implies that the channel is currently unavailable, without specifying the reason for the unavailability. If you see a red dot next to your favorite creator’s channel, chances are that you will soon no longer have access to the content offered by them.

There could be a few reasons why you’re seeing a blue dot when there isn’t one. This could very well be the case if you’re using the desktop version of YouTube. The desktop version uses the blue dot to notify you of new videos, new live streams, new community posts, and more, while the mobile version only uses the blue dot to notify you of new videos. If you see a blue dot but no new video, try checking for new live streams or community posts.