YouTube Unveils New Mobile Chat Feature for Android, iOS Apps

By Kinsey Grant

Alphabet’s YouTube added the ability to share videos and chat with friends and family directly in the mobile app for its own Android system and Apple Inc’s iOS, the company wrote in a Monday statement.

The new feature allows users to share videos and chat back and forth within the YouTube app by adding friends via SMS or an invitation link. YouTube has been working on a chat feature in the app since last year, adding feedback from beta testing to unveil this version globally.

The messaging feature can accommodate groups as large as 30 people in one chat thread. “Like chats around the water cooler, shouldn’t sharing a video be as easy as saying, ‘Have you heard this new song,’” YouTube wrote in a statement.

YouTube owner Google already operates several messaging apps including Android Messages, Allo, Duo, Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet.

Alphabet stock traded slightly down mid-afternoon.