Product Spotlight: See What’s New in Wistia [2025]

This year, we’re all about giving you more control over your videos, making your video workflow smoother, and helping you get better results.

See the features and updates we’ve released so far:

April

Interactive heatmaps for individual webinar attendees

The audience page just got a major upgrade. Now there’s an interactive heatmap next to each registrant that shows you exactly how they interacted with your event. You’ll see when they tuned in and dropped off, all the times they left a comment in the chat (and what they said!), and how focused they were.

The best part? You can sync all that data to your favorite marketing automation platform (e.g., HubSpot, Adobe Marketo Engage, or Pardot) and easily identify your high-intent leads for your follow-up campaigns.

Single checkbox fields for webinar forms

You asked, and we checked. You can now add a single checkbox field to your webinar registration forms to collect opt-ins, confirmations, or any simple yes/no responses. This keeps the registration flow for your audience much smoother with no drop-downs slowing them down.

Webcam feed placeholders

Say goodbye to blank squares. When a panelist has their camera turned off during a webinar, they’ll now appear as a branded icon with their initials or a chosen emoji. This may be a small change, but it makes a big difference in helping your audience identify who’s speaking on stage.

Video dubbing & localization (out of beta!)

Our dubbing feature is officially out of beta and ready for prime time across all paid plans! For just $2 per minute (with one free trial dub for select short videos), you can now use AI to dub your videos in multiple languages right in Wistia.

What’s more, this feature also translates your chapters, calls to action (CTAs), and forms to match the dubbed language. Anyone watching your videos can easily switch between languages during playback.

Wistia app makeover

Welcome to a new, more intuitive Wistia experience! We’ve redesigned the app interface with a full-width navigation bar and simplified media pages to help you move faster and stay focused on what matters: editing, diving into analytics, and creating clips.

Sign-in wall for locked Channels

We’ve added a proper login wall to locked Channels. When someone tries to access a Channel or episode set to “invited users” without being logged into their Wistia account, they’ll see a login prompt instead of a blank page.

This update only affects shared links, not embedded Channels.

Password-protected Channels

Now you can lock down an entire Channel or playlist with a single password, whether you’re sharing it directly or embedding it on your site.

Viewers only need to enter the password once to unlock all the content in that collection. They can move between videos without being prompted again.

This feature is available on the Pro, Advanced, and Premium plans.

Custom preview images for Channels

Want your Channel to look just right when it’s shared? Now you can set a custom preview image to control how your Channel appears when you share it on social, in messages, and anywhere else.

This update also includes support for Open Graph meta tags when you embed a Channel on your site.

Improvements to the video editor

Creating social clips in Wistia just got easier and more flexible. You can now make clips from transcripts with no minimum length. Trim ‘em down as short as you like!

We’ve also added a “mega-zoom-out” view in the timeline that shrinks all your clips, so it’s easier to rearrange long videos without all the scrolling.

A better download modal

We’ve redesigned the download modal from the ground up to make it faster and easier to grab your media assets.

You’ll find all your downloadable assets — videos in all resolutions, transcripts, dubbed versions, thumbnails (with a play button overlay that matches your player’s color!), storyboards, audio descriptions, and more — in one place.

Smarter folder permissions

The checkbox madness is over! We’ve simplified folder permissions to just two clear roles:

• View: For folks who only need access to content
• Manage: For those who need full control

If you’re on a Premium or legacy plan, you can still use granular settings (now called Custom) to fine-tune access with options like upload, download, share, and analytics.

We also refreshed the share link flow and users page to make permissions easier to manage across the board.

March

More accessible captions

Now your viewers can choose how their captions look. The video player comes with new built-in customization options that let them adjust the text size, color, and contrast of the captions to fit their needs and preferences.

Effortless syncing and sharing for Channels

Managing your Wistia Channels just got even smoother. Videos now automatically sync from a folder to a Channel or playlist — no extra steps required. And when you add new content, your subscribers automatically get notified. Last, but not least, we’ve unified the Share and Embed modal for Channels to make it easier than ever to showcase your videos.

Zooming in the editor

Need to highlight a key moment? Zoom in on specific parts of your video without affecting other clips. We’ve also added a manual scaling option so you can fine-tune your edits with precision.

New layouts & scaling options for social clips

Now you can resize your social video to fill more of the frame, zoom in to remove the background, and choose from sleek layout options:

• Tile layout: Rounded corners and padding for a polished look
• Full layout: A bold, edge-to-edge style that puts your video front and center

But wait, there’s more. You can also add custom gradient backgrounds with any two colors to match your brand. (Pro tip: Use the tile layout to make your gradient shine!)

Pre-recorded webinars & events

We’ve updated the “autostart” feature and renamed it “pre-recorded event.” Pre-recorded events now start and end automatically, so hosts don’t need to control the flow manually. You can still engage with attendees via chat, Q&A, and polls. And with improved reliability, you can scale your webinars without the stress.

Smoother, more reliable webinars

Say hello to network connection indicators, a new feature that helps hosts and panelists monitor their connection in real time. Get live updates, guidance on improving network quality, and alerts for critical issues like disconnections so you can keep your webinars running smoothly.

Plus, collaboration behind the scenes just got easier. Hosts and panelists can now mention each other in private chat and get toast notifications when tagged.

ICS attachments & CSV imports

We’ve made managing live event registrations smoother than ever for you and your registrants. With the new ICS calendar attachments, your registrants can add events to their calendar straight from the confirmation email. Plus, you can bulk import external registrants via CSV. It’s a simple way to add signups from MAP forms, social media, or other non-Wistia sources without requiring them to register again.

Searchable lists for lead syncing

Whether you’re using a form on your video or hosting a webinar, syncing your leads to your favorite marketing tool is now easier. The list limit is gone, and we’ve added type-ahead search so you can find the right list to sync your leads in no time.

February

Standard and extended audio descriptions

Now you can add audio descriptions that narrate the visual elements of your video. This makes your video content easier to consume, especially for folks who have trouble seeing their screen. You can either upload your own standard audio descriptions or order them directly through Wistia for $8 per minute. We’ll deliver them within five days and automatically add them to your video — no extra tools or manual work needed.

Want more detailed audio descriptions? You can order extended audio descriptions for $12 per minute. These pause the video to provide extra narration, which makes them perfect for moments that need more visual context.

Video dubbing and localization (now in beta)

Pack your bags, because your videos are going global!

With AI-powered dubbing, you can seamlessly translate your videos into over 30 languages. And that’s not all. Our AI also adjusts lip movements to match the new audio for a natural, polished look. You’ll also get an editable transcript with every translation.

Want to try it out? Opt into our beta features program and get up to 60 minutes of free video dubbing during the beta period. No passport required.

Burned-in captions

Now you can burn captions right into your videos to make sure your message always comes through, whether the sound’s on or off. The best part? You get plenty of templates and styling options to match your brand’s look.

Player gradients

We’ve made it possible to customize your play button and playback bar with gradients. Choose from our pre-made options or create your own with brand colors.

Waveforms in the video editor

We heard you all loud and clear: Waveforms make precise editing easier. That’s why we brought the waveform view back!

This view lets you trim your video based on changes in sound. And you can easily switch back to the thumbnail view whenever you need a different perspective.

Audio-only editing

Speaking of waveforms, you can also use them to edit your podcasts or other audio-only content. Just like you can clean up your videos, you’ll be able to cut audio clips, stitch them together, add background music, and enhance sound quality.

January

Playlists

Now you can embed a Wistia Channel as a dynamic playlist to make it easier for viewers to binge your curated collection of videos (like tutorials, product showcases, or educational series). Your playlists will automatically follow the order you set in your Channel and update whenever you make changes to it.

Thumbnail picker

Did you know that custom thumbnails can boost play rates by 7%? That’s why we’ve added a shiny new thumbnail picker to your media page! Now it’s easier than ever to upload your own custom thumbnail or choose the perfect frame from your video.

Audience page

Say hello to your new go-to spot for webinar registrant and attendee insights! With a sortable table, you can see who showed up, how much they watched, and how they interacted with your content. Plus, you’ll get detailed engagement metrics like watch time and chat activity for each attendee.

“Request a video” feature

Need video assets from contractors, agencies, or other collaborators ASAP without the usual delays? The new “request a video” feature can make that happen. Just send your collaborators a link, and they can upload or record straight into a folder — no Wistia account needed.

Importing via URL

Say goodbye to downloading and re-uploading videos! With our new “import via URL” feature, you can effortlessly add your videos from across the web to Wistia. Just paste the link, and we’ll handle the rest.

LinkedIn Live integration

Streaming to LinkedIn just got easier. No more copying RTMP URLs or searching for stream keys! Just connect your LinkedIn account to Wistia, and you’re ready to go. This feature is available for users on the Pro, Advanced, and Premium plans.

Group recording improvements

We’ve added streamed backups to make sure you never lose a recording. If an upload fails, you’ll find a backup ready for download right on your media page, clearly labeled and organized with your other files. No more lost content, no more stress — just a smoother recording process to keep your projects on track.

Quick search improvements

We’ve made our quick search feature more intuitive and efficient with improved filters, expanded results, and new icons.

Improvements to personal settings

With your profile and notifications now separated into two pages, it’s faster to find what you need. Plus, you can upload your own profile picture to add a personal touch to Wistia’s collaborative features like team commenting.

That’s a wrap! Stay tuned for more exciting updates coming your way next month.