Conversations can soon be had via the YouTube app on both Android and iOS devices as YouTube has begun testing a new in-app messaging platform.
Currently available only in Canada, YouTube’s in-app messaging platform is very much identical to almost every other messaging platform available. The platform allows you to chat with your friends, create group conversations, and other standard chat app features. The only thing that can be considered unique to YouTube’s own messaging platform is that it would be easier to share YouTube videos with others.
As for the reasoning behind the Canada-only rollout of YouTube’s messaging platform, Google product manager Shimrit Ben Yair states that Canada’s userbase is ideal for the testing. “We wanted to start with Canada because Canadians are sharing 15 percent more videos than the average user, so it’s interesting to see this is actually a behaviour that happens more in Canada,” says Yair.
Neither Google nor YouTube have mentioned anything about a global rollout at this point, so it looks like we’re going to have to wait.
Source: TechCrunch, Financial Post
