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YouTube is adding a new Shorts feature to rival TikTok and Instagram Reels

The new format will be available in India first.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
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YouTube Shorts is happening. 

YouTube

YouTube is getting in on the short-form video craze. In a blog post, the Google-owned video platform detailed its new format, which it calls Shorts. The new feature will be a rival for Chinese app TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Designed as a "new short-form video experience right on YouTube for creators and artists who want to shoot short, catchy videos" with their phones , Shorts will be capped at a maximum of 15 seconds per clip.  TikTok  allows for 60-second videos, while  Instagram 's Reels are also maxed at 15 seconds. 

As with TikTok or Reels, music can be added to the clips, with YouTube providing tools to edit multiple video clips together, as well as speed controls, timer and countdown options for recording hands-free. 

Like with TikTok, swiping vertically from one Shorts video will let you move to a new one. 

Read also: Instagram Reels tutorial: How to use the TikTok competitor

The new format will be available on Android phones in India "over the next few days," with YouTube's Chris Jaffe noting in the blog post that the company will "continue to expand to iOS devices and in more countries soon."

YouTube's news comes as Oracle confirmed it would become the technology partner for TikTok in the US after pressure from the Trump administration for the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, to find a US home.