Twitter: Microblogging social media platform Twitter is working on a feature that would let users watch videos from video streaming site YouTube right from the Twitter timeline. At the moment, when a YouTube video link is shared on Twitter, the user is sent to the Google-owned video streaming website to watch the video, which has for long left users frustrated. The feature is being tested currently on iOS devices, and it would allow users to watch a video in-app without users needing to leave Twitter, and then give them the ability to continue scrolling, if they so wish, once the video is over.
The development was shared by Twitter in a post, where it showed how the feature would work with the help of a GIF. As per the demonstration that the microblogging site shared, any video link from YouTube would play in the post itself, similar to how videos uploaded on Twitter are played. The users would not be redirected anywhere to play the video. The only mark of distinction between a video uploaded directly to Twitter and a video linked from YouTube seems to be the logo and brand name of “YouTube” underneath the sourced video.
Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/V4qzMJMEBs
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 18, 2021
As per reports, the test is currently being conducted among a small population of users located in the US, Japan, Saudi Arabia as well as Canada, and this test would last for four weeks. Whether the feature would be rolled out, and the intricate details regarding this decision would remain dependent on the result of this test.
The testing of this feature comes on the heels of the announcement of two other features that the company is testing for iOS and Android devices – one that would now preview images in the tweet composer the way they would look in the timeline, and the other with which 4K images could be uploaded and viewed on mobile.