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YouTube adds another TikTok feature: live rings

Now you'll know when a channel is going live.

Meera Navlakha

on February 21, 2022

Everything is TikTok now. Credit: Thiago Prudencio / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

YouTube is taking more cues from TikTok and Instagram, adding a small new feature that will let you know if a channel is streaming live.

While the platform has offered livestreaming since 2016, you'll now see a ring sitting around a YouTube channel's circular icon with the word "Live" across it, which users can click to lead them to the stream.

YouTube's chief product officer, Neal Mohan, made the announcement on Twitter last week.

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TikTok and Instagram already feature a similar ring, which circles an account's profile picture while they're livestreaming.

This isn't the first time YouTube has revealed a TikTok-esque update to its platform. Most significantly, the company rolled out YouTube Shorts last year, a direct TikTok competitor promoting short-form videos on YouTube's mobile app.

SEE ALSO: How to go live on Instagram

TikTok lending inspiration to other tech companies is well evidenced: Netflix added "Kids Clips" to its iOS app in a handful of countries last year, a feature displaying short clips from their child-friendly content.

It's no real surprise to see these platforms constantly copying TikTok — it was, after all, the most downloaded app in the world last year.

Topics TikTok YouTube

Meera Navlakha

Meera is a journalist based between London and New York. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Vice, The Independent, Vogue India, W Magazine, and others. She was previously a Culture Reporter at Mashable.