In a significant move to empower the growing community of small and mid-tier creators, YouTube has officially launched its Hype feature in India — a tool designed to boost the visibility of emerging talent on the platform, offering them a larger stage and stronger engagement within the YouTube ecosystem.

According to a report by Mashable India, the Hype feature allows viewers to show their support for up-and-coming creators by adding a “Hype” reaction to eligible videos. Once hyped, these videos are more likely to appear on other users’ homepage feeds, thereby increasing discoverability.

The initiative is YouTube’s way of leveling the playing field in a content landscape that is often dominated by top-tier influencers with massive subscriber bases.

The feature is currently being rolled out in phases, and only a select set of creators fall under the initial rollout. YouTube has stated that creators who are part of its Partner Program, have under 500,000 subscribers, and maintain consistent content quality will be considered. Viewers can participate by simply clicking the Hype button, available temporarily during limited testing windows on mobile and desktop, the Mashable India  report stated.