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YouTube will challenge TikTok by introducing a feature called Shorts
After the YouTube app recently had creators' Stories beginning to pop up in users' feeds, YouTube is apparently now going for another trendy social media feature - short clips.
As reported by The Information (via NeoWin), Google's monopolistic video sharing platform is currently working on a feature named Shorts, likely meant to attract back a portion of the younger audience YouTube may have lost to the likes of Chinese mega-success app TikTok.
YouTube's Shorts feature will be available in the mobile YouTube app, where current options are to upload a video, live stream or share a written post. It's not known when the feature will roll out and if everyone will be able to use it, but the answers are likely this year, and yes.
With its 2 billion active users and a massive catalog of licensed music, which may be available for users to add to their Stories, it only makes sense for YouTube to go for it. Much like Facebook, which launched a TikTok-like service all the way back in late 2018, called Lasso, in its own struggle to bring back its decreasing younger audience, YouTube also wants to be as attractive to all ages as possible.
The Google-owned company recently lowered its video playback quality in Europe after a request from European Union officials to help avoid internet disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after, it dedicated a coronavirus news panel on its homepage in order to deliver credible news to its users during the unusual times.
As the video sharing giant adapts and evolves, we're yet to see if its attempts will put younger competitor apps out of business or YouTube is about to lose focus by going for all the trendy new features.
