YouTube has launched a renewed effort to integrate direct messaging into its platform. According to a support page, the service has started testing DMs as a way for users to share and discuss videos. The trial is for users aged 18 and older in Ireland and Poland. But while a DM typically comes with some expectation of privacy, Google notes that “messages may be reviewed to ensure they follow our Community Guidelines.”
This isn’t the video platform’s first attempt at providing a messaging angle. YouTube added DMs to its app in 2017, then removed the feature in 2019 to emphasize public conversations in comment sections. The new testing of sharing within YouTube’s ecosystem won’t mean any changes to other ways people send videos. Reintroducing the same system six years later seems like an odd choice, but Google claims it’s “a top feature request”, so maybe it will be widely adopted this time.