YouTube Shorts takes shot at TikTok with new livestream feature

YouTube Shorts has taken a shot at TikTok with their latest feature, bringing vertical livestreams into Shorts feed for the first time.

Launched back in September 2020, YouTube Shorts has helped skyrocket many channels on the site into the tens of thousands of subscribers.

Similar to TikTok, YouTube Shorts offers a special feed for users to upload and consume content up to one minute long.

Now, YouTube has taken another shot at TikTok by adding a new vertical livestream feature and you’ll be able to find them inside of the existing Shorts feed.

YouTube Shorts adds vertical livestreams

YouTube has been testing vertical livestreams on the platform since August 2023, but finally rolled it out to all users as of February 7, 2024.

Announced in a clip on the YouTube Creators channel, it details the requirements to be able to live stream on the platform as well as some of the options you’ll be able to take advantage of when setting up the broadcast.

These will show up in the feed similar to how TikTok Live broadcasts do, and you’ll be able to tap on it in order to enter the chat.

On top of being able to stream vertically, YouTube creators can multi-stream both a horizontal and vertical broadcast for users to enjoy it however they wish.

As the YouTube Support page on Twitter warns, though, it will show up as two broadcasts and requires the use of third-party plugins.

Overall, the reaction to the new feature has been positive and users seem to be very excited to go live with the platform’s new feature.