YouTube rolls out Stories to creators with over 10,000 subscribers

The battle between YouTube and Instagram continues.

In a blog post, Google-owned YouTube announced on Thursday that it was expanding the rollout its Stories feature to all of the platform’s creators with over 10,000 subscribers.

YouTube’s Stories feature is very much like Stories over on Instagram and Snapchat. Creators who are eligible in the expanded rollout can use Stories to add text, filters, stickers, music, and more to their videos.

But, there are some major areas where YouTube Stories differ from the rest. One big difference is how long it takes for them to disappear. YouTube Stories remain watchable in the mobile app for seven days before disappearing. Stories on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram last only 24 hours after posting. Viewers can also leave comments on YouTube’s version of Stories and creators have the ability to respond.

Stories show up on the YouTube mobile app, appearing at the top of the screen when you tap the Subscriptions tab. If you don't subscribe to a specific channel, you can still view that channel's stories in "Up Next" when you visit the channel page.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

YouTube first announced its Stories feature exactly one year ago. Prior to today, the video platform had only allowed select creators to test the Stories feature, formerly known as Reels. With the broader rollout, more YouTube users will certainly start to notice Stories if they hadn’t come across them already. However, with a minimum of 10,000 subscribers needed to use Stories, YouTube is still blocking a big chunk of its users from taking advantage of the feature.

As The Verge points out, YouTube Stories has created some controversy within the platform’s community. Users on Reddit have questioned whether the Stories model really fits the YouTube platform overall. Well-known YouTube creators like Philip DeFranco are criticizing the way in which YouTube’s version of Stories works.

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While Snapchat is usually credited with creating the Stories concept, YouTube’s latest move in creating its own version of the feature really has more to do with Facebook-owned Instagram.

Over the summer, Instagram launched its own standalone video platform called IGTV. The app targeted creators and provided them with a way to share longform video content. And Facebook itself has its own video service, Facebook Watch. The social network has been experimenting with various video advertising options recently as it continues to try and encroach upon YouTube’s territory.