YouTube has officially brought back the ability to direct message within the app. It’s currently rolling out in the US, UK, Brazil, and Singapore. It has been rolled out to a number of countries already, and now it’s making its way to a few more, bringing the total to 40 supported countries.
This in-app video sharing and messaging feature is available to users who are 18 years and older and who are logged into a YouTube channel. YouTube does mention that the rollout here is gradual, so you may not see it appear immediately in your YouTube app.
Once the feature has rolled out, you’ll see a messaging icon that appears in the top right corner of the app. You can share any video or Short directly from the Share button as well. Fortunately, you can’t just spam people with messages, as you do need to send them an invite link first, and that link has to go through a third-party app like WhatsApp, Telegram or SMS to be accepted. This is likely to cut down on spam and scam attempts on YouTube.
YouTube quietly killed off this messaging feature in 2019, now it’s back
Google first introduced the ability to direct message people in 2017; it was among the push to put a new messaging service in every app that Google has. It then decided to axe the feature around 2019. This year, Google decided to bring it back, with it having gone live in around 30 European countries back in March.
This is a great way to share videos with your friends and family, and it’s a huge part of what has made TikTok so successful. So it’s not surprising to see YouTube doing the same thing here. As YouTube of course, wants you to watch more and more videos.
The post You Can Message Friends on YouTube Again, and It’s Better This Time appeared first on Android Headlines.
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