It’s already been copied by Facebook and Instagram, and now it seems that even YouTube is ripping off Snapchat’s Stories feature.
The website has unveiled a new video format called ‘Reels’ that lets users create 30 second videos.
A beta version of Reels is currently being tested, and it is unclear when YouTube plans to roll the feature out to more creators.
It’s already been copied by Facebook and Instagram, and now it seems that even YouTube is ripping off Snapchat’s Stories feature. The website has unveiled a new video format called ‘Reels’ that lets users create 30 second videos
The Reels feature is part of a wider effort by YouTube to expand its Community – an area of the site that is only accessible to creators with over 10,000 subscribers, who can share polls, pictures, texts and GIFs with viewers.
A blog about the updates said: ‘We’ve been working closely with creators to build, test and refine this product.
‘Now, we want to take this opportunity to share some of our learnings and updates.’
The Reels feature allows creators with access to the Community to share short videos with their viewers.
The blog said: ‘Reels are YouTube’s spin on the popular “stories” format, but designed specifically for YouTube creators.
‘We learned that you want the flexibility to create multiple Reels and have them not expire, so we’ll give you those options.’
The Reels feature is part of a wider effort by YouTube to expand its Community – an area of the site that is only accessible to creators with over 10,000 subscribers, who can share polls (pictured), pictures, texts and GIFs with viewers
Further details about how Reels works remain unclear.
The blog added: ‘Just like we did with Community, we’ll be experimenting with a beta version of Reels to learn and improve the product before expanding to more creators.’
HOW APPS COPIED SNAPCHAT’S STORIES
Snapchat released its Stories feature in October 2013, and since, several apps have copied the feature.
August 2016 – Instagram
In August 2016, Instagram released a near-perfect copy of Snapchat Stories, in the form of Instagram Stories.
In August 2016, Instagram released a near-perfect copy of Snapchat Stories, in the form of Instagram Stories
Instagram’s version features a row of circular avatars at the top of the Instagram feed.
Each bubble represents an account that you follow, and contains every photo and video clip that they’ve posted to their stories feed within the past day.
March 2017 – Facebook
In March 2017, Facebook introduced Facebook Stories along with two other new Snapchat-like features – Facebook Camera and Direct.
Facebook Stories highlights decorative content in a horizontal layout over News Feed that disappears in 24 hours – just like Snapchat Stories.
In March 2017, Facebook introduced Facebook Stories along with two other new Snapchat-like features – Facebook Camera and Direct
YouTube has also introduced several other updates to the Community section of the site, including improved discoverability.
The blog said: ‘As with videos, we want to show the right Community post to the right user, so we’ve made updates to how these posts reach your audience across YouTube.
‘Your most engaged viewers can now see Community posts in the Home feed, whether they’re subscribed to your channel or not.’