Short-form content isn't new, but few platforms have made a splash bigger than TikTok. Wanting to capitalize on this growing trend, competitors have cropped up in numbers, and existing platforms like Instagram are scrambling to adapt. After experimenting with Shorts (60-second vertical videos) in India, YouTube is now making the feature available to users in the US.

The announcement was made a couple of weeks ago by Neal Mohan, YouTube CPO, in a blog post that detailed YouTube's plans for the year. Shorts has gained a lot of momentum in India, accounting for more than 3.5 billion daily views globally — an impressive number considering that it's only officially been available to Indian creators until now.

A beta version of Shorts will be visible in carousels on the home feed and the recommended videos section, as seen below. Shorts from channels you've subscribed to will also show up in the subscription feed.

The short-form video creation tool isn't as feature-rich as TikTok, but it does have some basic features, including speed control, music, and a timer for hands-free shooting. YouTube is constantly experimenting with new ways to make it easier to produce and upload content — it recently got a Create button right below the video player and replaced the Chromecast icon in the app's top bar with a Shorts button.

Creators will also be able to highlight Shorts on their channels by breaking them out into a separate section. It's also worth noting that Shorts will not contribute to your daily bell notification limits. YouTube clarifies that viewers will only receive personalized Shorts recommendations across all channels, and not for every Short that a creator uploads.

UPDATE: 2021/03/22 4:56am PDT BY PRASHAM PARIKH

Shorts in subscription feed

The article has been updated to reflect information of changes to the YouTube Shorts experience.

Source: Google (1), (2)

Via: XDA Developers