[Suggestion] A new category for rapidly flashing things to help people with epilepsy

[bbb651]

The title says it all. It's a bit different than the rest of the categories but it can be very helpful for a lot of people.

[elypter]

that sounds more than useful enough on its own but it also helps to legitimize the addon and discourages platforms to disallow it.

[nfd9001]

This may be extremely useful for anyone who is photosensitive might want to put on a video in a language they can't read well/fully understand (e.g. language learners, people listening to foreign music, ...). Hazards that a viewer can't be properly warned about could be lurking around any corner.

[izzy]

I just had the same idea after realising this extension could be used for not just this but could be extended to different sort of content that aren't easily or safely consumable by everyone(think other sensory issues like auditory overstim) or could have other adverse reactions. There's a lot of value this extension could have in terms of health and safety.

[erkinalp]

Related: #1310

Could be merged into "intentional sensory overstimulation", with possible "remedies" of skipping, blackout, muting and full video.

[FlashlightET]

if they were merged would i be able to set it to skip earrape but not skip flashing lights

[erkinalp]

@FlashlightET #1308

[SethFalco]

I'd really like to see this as well as it would be a valuable accessibility feature which YouTube has skipped out on. It's important to note that it's not just about epilepsy, but general photosensitivity. One doesn't have to have seizures or the like to find high visual stimulation discomforting, and so I don't think this category/feature should be directly named after or tied to epilepsy, though that audience would ofc benefit from it.

Some videos that might be covered by a request like this:

• Visual
  • Ad (Flashes of highly saturated colors.)
  • How Many Shirts Will Stop a Bullet? (Flashes at 0:38, see Reddit comment.)

I have encountered numerous users who are seeking a solution to this problem which I believe SponsorBlock could solve. Also, just noting some external posts that essentially request this feature from YouTube:

• Reddit: YT should add a seizure warning section when we upload videos (1,300+ upvotes)
• Reddit: Can they put seizure warnings on any videos that have flashing lights? (171 upvotes)