YouTube brings its own version of Stories- Reels

YouTube is the latest entrant to adopt Snapchat Stories feature. We didn't use the word copy here because Reels isn't directly copied from Stories and is designed specifically for YouTube creators, Roy Livne, YouTube senior product manager, wrote in a blog post.

Reels lets users post videos of up to 30 seconds long. But a big difference between Snapchat Stories and other copycat implementations (like Instagram Stories) is that YouTube’s Reels won’t necessarily disappear after 24 hours. The company tells the idea with Reels is to introduce a new video format on YouTube that lets creators express themselves and engage fans without having to post a full video.

But, it can also include links to longer YouTube videos and will let creators apply filters as well as add music tracks, text and stickers to the videos. The Reels feature will soon be available to creators in beta test mode.

Livne wrote, "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."

Additionally, the company said it has updated how posts in Community reach users across the platform. Now, a creator’s most engaged viewers will see Community posts in their Home feed on YouTube, even if they’re not subscribed to the channel. YouTube says notifications are also now optimized so fans aren’t spammed with every new Community post.