Social platforms are constantly looking for ways to add new features that keep them relevant. YouTube is no exception and has aggressively been testing and adding new features to enhance the popularity of the platform. Their latest addition is sure to be a hit.

Google-owned YouTube has just released a new messaging feature that allows mobile users to message each other within the app. Users are now able to share videos with other people in their network, and to have private conversations about these videos without having to leave the platform. This is much less cumbersome than having to copy a link and share it via other social networks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=37&v=feBF_IY-HI8

The new in-app feature has been tested since mid-2016 and is currently only available to users based in Canada. Although the addition will be made available globally, according to Google, Canadians share 15% more than users anywhere else in the world, which makes them the perfect guinea pigs for the initial implementation. There has been no word as to when the feature will be rolled out to other users, but for now, if you have friends and family in Canada, ask them to add you to a conversation using your Google account and you can try it out before other regions.

I think this is a brilliant idea for YouTube and it will no doubt boost engagement on the platform. This is quite clearly a key objective for YouTube, especially considering the addition of the community tab. This isn’t surprising with the popularity of video content increasing. I suspect this isn’t the last innovative feature for the platform we’ll see this year. What do you think?

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