To cash in on the gap created by the ban on TikTok in India, YouTube has announced the launch of a new video-sharing method called YouTube Shorts. The Alphabet-owned company has announced it will test a beta version of its new TikTok rival in India.
The beta version will be launched with a handful of new creation tools over the next few days. YouTube Shorts will limit videos to 15 seconds, and the platform will feature creator tools that are similar to Chinese-owned TikTok.
"This is an early version of the product, but we're releasing it now to bring you—our global community of users, creators and artists—on our journey with us as we build and improve Shorts," YouTube said, adding that more features and expand to more countries in the coming months based on feedback it will receive from users who have engaged with the new format.
According to YouTube, every month 2 billion viewers visit YouTube, with several creators who have built their entire businesses on the video-sharing platform. YouTube's latest product release comes as the US tech firm Oracle confirmed that TikTok's owner ByteDance had formally proposed becoming a "trusted technology partner" in the US.
"We want to enable the next generation of mobile creators to also grow a community on YouTube with Shorts. It will have a multi-segment camera to string multiple video clips together as well as the option to record with music from a large library of songs that will continue to grow. It will also have speed controls that will give the user flexibility to be creative with their performance and a timer and countdown to easily record hands-free," the blogpost said. Users can also shoot different videos and stitch them together using the set of creator tools provided. Apart from this, users can also monitor the speed of their video and add music to their videos using YouTube’s song library.
YouTube Shorts will not be a standalone app but it will be highlighted within the YouTube app on Android. The feature will be gradually rolled out for iOS users.
YouTube will be the latest to join the bandwagon of companies rolling out short video-creating features, after India the Centre banned TikTok and 59 other apps. In July, Instagram rolled out its version of the same format Reels.
