YouTube Shorts gets new photo sharing features

YouTube has introduced several new features that allow users to share photo-based content through Shorts. The platform is increasingly evolving YouTube Shorts to resemble Instagram and TikTok offering more ways for users to create and share visual content.

According to a report, YouTube has designed new tools specifically for image-based posts. Users can now create slideshow-style posts with up to 10 photos. They can also add text to images and include up to 15 seconds of background music.

With these additions, creators no longer need to edit a full video every time they want to share content. Instead, they can easily engage their audience using photos. The company said the new features are intended to help users share photo stories directly in the Shorts feed.

As mentioned, these new image posts closely resemble the photo-sharing features already popular on Instagram and TikTok. A few days earlier, YouTube also announced several updates to the Shorts interface.

One of the key additions is a new Clear Screen Mode which hides icons and on-screen text to provide a more immersive viewing experience. Users can also double the playback speed of Shorts allowing them to watch short videos even faster.

Additionally, YouTube is replacing the traditional thumbs-up icon with a heart icon as the new Like button. The platform is also retiring the Dislike button for Shorts. Instead, users will be able to use the “Not Interested” and “Don’t Recommend This Channel” options to better personalize their Shorts feed.