Shrinkflation strikes again, this time with a longstanding YouTube tradition

Not even YouTube’s Play Buttons are safe from shrinkflation!

Shrinkflation strikes again, this time with a longstanding YouTube tradition
  • A Reddit user revealed that YouTube is handing out smaller-sized plaques to creators who hit subscriber milestones.
  • The downsizing is speculated to be in response to the growing number of creators reaching milestones, driven by the popularity of YouTube Shorts.
  • Reactions on Reddit are mixed, with some users seeing the change as practical, while others feel the smaller plaques don’t adequately reflect the magnitude of the achievement.

One of the coolest non-monetary perks of running a successful YouTube channel is receiving YouTube’s Creator Awards when you hit key subscriber milestones. These shiny, metallic plaques, often referred to as YouTube Play Buttons, are pretty revered within the YouTube community, given that they represent all the hard work and dedication creators put into growing their channels.

However, Reddit user Meroyma recently revealed just how different the new award looks. In their post, they pointed out that the plaque awarded for reaching the one million subscriber mark is now considerably smaller in size. They also shared a photo comparing the older, larger plaque with the new, downsized version to highlight the difference in size, which has, expectedly, sparked a wave of comments about this new form of shrinkflation.