Recommendations & playlists

Status	Current
Owner	Aparat Product Team
Last verified	2026-08-02 — Figma "AWD - Video Single", the single-video API mapping, the live product, and the support-centre article on video cards

Part of the Video Single page. UI labels are given as an English gloss followed by the Persian string in quotes; the quoted Persian is authoritative — except for the word video, which this documentation always spells «ویدئو» even where the screen shows «ویدیو» (see the language note).

Introduction & Purpose

Discovery is what keeps a viewer on Aparat after the current video. Beside (or below) the player, the page offers a recommended-videos column, in-stream “referenced videos” cards that a creator attaches over the player, and — when the video belongs to a playlist — a playlist panel that plays the list in order. Together with autoplay, these drive the next thing to watch.

Business goal: maximise session length and cross-channel discovery, and let creators steer viewers to more of their own content.

Scope

The recommended-videos column and its tabs, the in-stream referenced cards, and the playlist panel/view (viewer and owner). Sponsored cards are noted where they appear but ad mechanics are otherwise out of scope. How the next video is chosen when autoplay is on, and the end-of-video suggestion card, are covered in Playback & the player.

Audiences & Roles

Browsing recommendations and playlists is the same for everyone. The owner/admin playlist view (managing the list) appears only for the channel owner. See the hub roles.

Business Rules

• BR-1 — Recommended column. A column of suggested videos is shown, labelled «ویدئوهای معرفی شده» / «پیشنهادی». Each card shows a thumbnail, title, channel, view count, relative date, and duration. The column is paged — more videos load as the viewer reaches the end rather than all at once.
• BR-2 — The tabs are per-video trends, not a fixed taxonomy. Alongside the two constant tabs For you («برای شما») and From followed («از دنبال‌شده‌ها»), the remaining tab labels are generated for this specific video from its own topic trends — on a cookery video they read «نوشیدنی», «آشپزی», «تفریحات تابستانی»; on a technology video they read «تکنولوژی», «آیفون», «بررسی موبایل». Do not treat the tab set as a category list: it changes from video to video, and each tab is fetched separately when selected.
• BR-3 — Tabs appear after scroll. The filter tabs are not shown initially; they appear once the viewer scrolls. The design rationale on record is to keep them clear of the like/comment action bar until the viewer has moved past it. The design review notes that this behaviour needs to be spelled out clearly — this rule is that statement.
• BR-4 — Card badges. Cards can carry a Live badge («زنده») with an online-viewer count instead of a duration, a New badge («جدید»), or an Ad label («تبلیغ»). Sponsored cards include a Close ad («بستن تبلیغ») control and a CTA.
• BR-5 — In-stream referenced cards. A creator can attach up to 5 “referenced video” cards that appear over the player at set times, each at a time the creator chooses. The referenced videos are always from the video's own channel — content from another channel cannot be promoted here. This is the same authoring surface that produces the end-of-video card; the creator configures both under “add card”.
• BR-6 — In-stream default & behavior. The referenced-videos box is collapsed by default. Clicking a card on the player opens the list and highlights the referenced video, with a highlight styled like hover but in a different colour. The card's badge shows the timestamp at which the card appears in the video, and clicking a referenced thumbnail opens that video in a new tab. The card's meta line deliberately omits the publish date — it was removed during design review to keep the line short.
• BR-7 — Playlist panel. When the video is part of a playlist, a playlist panel shows the list name (linking to the playlist page), the channel it belongs to, the video's position as «ویدئو N از M», and Save to playlist («ذخیره در لیست پخش») plus More («بیشتر»). The panel can be collapsed or expanded, and the row currently playing is marked. A playlist has its own order — which may be manually arranged by its owner rather than chronological — and its own public/private status.
• BR-8 — Owner/admin playlist view. For the channel owner, the playlist panel/view exposes management controls for the list.
• BR-9 — Following a playlist is its own action. A viewer can follow a playlist independently of following the channel that owns it; for a signed-out visitor the control routes to sign-in.

Scenarios

Scenario 1: Browse recommended videos

Purpose — the viewer finds another video to watch.

Roles Involved — all viewers.

Preconditions — the viewer is on the watch page.

Main Flow

1. The viewer looks at the recommended column. → Each card shows title, channel, view count, relative date, and duration (BR-1).
2. The viewer scrolls. → The recommendation tabs appear: For you («برای شما»), From followed («از دنبال‌شده‌ها»), and this video's own trend tabs (BR-2, BR-3).
3. The viewer selects a tab. → The column is re-fetched for that trend and shows its videos.
4. The viewer reaches the end of the column. → The next page of recommendations loads.
5. The viewer clicks a card. → That video's watch page opens.

Extensions — Alternative & Exception Flows

• 1a. A card is Live («زنده»):
  • 1a1. It shows an online-viewer count instead of a duration (BR-4).
• 1b. A card is an ad («تبلیغ»):
  • 1b1. It shows a Close ad («بستن تبلیغ») control and a sponsored CTA (BR-4). The same ad request serves both the under-player slot and this column, so an ad may appear in either.
• 1c. The video has no trends of its own:
  • 1c1. Only the two constant tabs remain; the column still works (BR-2).
• 1d. (Mobile) The column moves below the player and offers a Show more («نمایش بیشتر») control; filter chips sit under the player.

Postconditions — the viewer navigates to another video, or (with autoplay on) the next video plays automatically — see Playback & the player, Scenario 5.

Scenario 2: Use in-stream referenced cards

Purpose — the creator points the viewer to related videos from the same channel, shown over the player.

Roles Involved — all viewers.

Preconditions — the video has referenced cards attached; the box is collapsed by default (BR-6).

Main Flow

1. At the configured time, a referenced card appears over the player, badged with the timestamp it appears at (BR-6). → The section is titled «ویدئوهای معرفی‌شده» with a count «N ویدئو».
2. The viewer clicks the card on the player. → The referenced-videos list opens and the referenced video is highlighted (BR-6).
3. The viewer clicks a referenced thumbnail. → That video opens in a new tab (BR-6).

Extensions — Alternative & Exception Flows

• 1a. (Mobile) The viewer taps the referenced-videos box:
  • 1a1. Instead of expanding in place, an internal page opens in the same position listing the referenced videos.
• 1b. The creator wants to attach more than the maximum:
  • 1b1. At most 5 referenced cards exist per video, all from the video's own channel (BR-5).
• 1c. The creator wants to reference another channel's video:
  • 1c1. Not possible — the card picker is limited to the channel's own content (BR-5).

Postconditions — the viewer moves to a referenced video (in a new tab) or ignores the card.

Scenario 3: Watch through a playlist

Purpose — the viewer watches a video that is part of a playlist and continues through the list.

Roles Involved — all viewers.

Preconditions — the video belongs to a playlist.

Main Flow

1. The viewer sees the playlist panel. → It shows the list name and owning channel, the position «ویدئو N از M», and Save to playlist («ذخیره در لیست پخش») + More («بیشتر») (BR-7).
2. The viewer expands or collapses the panel. → The list of videos shows/hides, with the current one marked.
3. The viewer follows the playlist. → The follow state is recorded against the playlist, separately from following its channel (BR-9).
4. The video ends with autoplay on. → The next video in the playlist order plays (see Playback & the player, BR-2).

Extensions — Alternative & Exception Flows

• 1a. The playlist is private:
  • 1a1. Its publication status is a property of the list; a private list is marked «خصوصی» against «عمومی» for a public one.
• 1b. The playlist order was arranged manually by its owner:
  • 1b1. “Next” follows that arrangement, not the videos' publication dates (BR-7).
• 1c. (Mobile) The playlist panel appears above the title in the single column.
• 3a. The viewer is signed out:
  • 3a1. Following the playlist routes to the sign-in modal (BR-9).

Postconditions — the viewer progresses through the playlist.

Scenario 4: Manage the playlist (channel owner)

Purpose — the channel owner manages the playlist from the watch page.

Roles Involved — channel owner only.

Preconditions — the signed-in viewer owns the channel and the video is in one of their playlists.

Main Flow

1. The owner opens the playlist panel in the owner/admin view. → Management controls for the list are available (BR-8).

Extensions — Alternative & Exception Flows

• 1a. The viewer is not the owner:
  • 1a1. Only the standard viewer playlist panel is shown, without management controls.
• 1b. Exact management actions (reorder, remove, edit):
  • 1b1. [CLARIFICATION NEEDED: the owner/admin playlist view exists in the design, but no capture and no endpoint evidence covers the management actions — confirm which of them are performed here rather than on the playlist's own page.]

Postconditions — the playlist reflects the owner's changes.

Mobile & Tablet View

Only the differences from desktop (see the hub Mobile & Tablet View):

• The recommended column moves below the player in the single column, with filter chips under the player and a Show more («نمایش بیشتر») control.
• When the video is in a playlist, the playlist panel appears above the title.
• Tapping the in-stream referenced-videos box opens an internal list page rather than expanding inline (Scenario 2, 1a).

Open Questions

• 2026-07-21 — Exact owner/admin playlist management actions (Scenario 4, 1b). — waiting on Product.
• 2026-07-21 — Whether the recommended column and its tabs differ for signed-in vs signed-out viewers (the “From followed” tab implies a signed-in context). — waiting on Product.
• 2026-08-02 — Card badge placement. The design review found the in-stream card's time badge easy to misread as the referenced video's duration and asked for it to move to the row below so it does not mix with the card's meta line. The thread was then marked resolved without confirming the move, and no artifact in this run shows it applied. Confirm the badge's final position (BR-6). — waiting on Design.
• 2026-08-02 — Algorithmic playlist suggestion. A design thread asks whether the recommendation team can suggest a playlist for this surface. It was closed in December 2023 with no reply, so nothing records whether it was taken up; no such suggestion appears in the current design or in the data the page receives. — needs confirmation from Product.

Changelog

Date	Change	Source
2026-08-02	Rewritten. Corrected the tabs: they are per-video trends generated for that video, not a fixed category set. Added column paging, playlist follow as an independent action, playlist order and privacy, the highlight styling for referenced cards, the shared ad request behind both ad slots, and the link between in-stream and end-of-video cards. Moved the saved-live-stream badge to Channel, title & description BR-9, where the design puts it — beside the title, not on a recommendation card. Added a machine-readable endpoint-context block to the page's front matter, for developers who read this repository rather than the site.	Design contracts + Figma + live product + support centre
2026-07-21	Initial version.	Figma "AWD - Video Single" + live product