YouTube launches ‘YouTube Shorts’ feature to rival TikTok

YouTube has announced its short-form video experience feature dubbed ” YouTube Shorts” to rival TikTok. The feature is created for content creators and artists who want to shoot short catchy videos using their mobile phones.

The feature has been launched in India in beta version and will be rolled out in the coming months to global users.

Shorts will allow users to upload videos up to 15 seconds using a set of creator tools that include a multi-segment camera, speed controls, a timer and a countdown feature functioning similar to TikTok.

The multi-segment camera also lets you string together multiple video clips into one short clip while other controls enable YouTube creators to be more creative with the feature. It also takes advantage of the video service’s catalogue of licensed music, songs from which will be available to use as soundtracks for the videos created by users.

The short-form video will have access to YouTube’s growing library of music. It will be highlighted within the YouTube app on Android then rollout later to iOS with time.

However, People who don’t have access to the Shorts camera can still upload vertical videos that are under 60 seconds long, with the hashtag #shorts in the title or description. Their videos will still be picked up and highlighted on the YouTube homepage.

YouTube has already added a row on the homepage for short videos that will let you discover short videos to watch and swipe vertically from one video to another.

Google says, “There’s much more to come, and over the next few weeks and months, we’ll continue to roll out more creation tools and easier ways to watch short videos on YouTube as we listen to your feedback.”

With the successful roll out, shorts is likely to pick up well taking advantage of the YouTube’s large community of about 2 billion users.