YouTube is introducing a new feature to let the users know when the content producer or channel they are following is live streaming on the platform. Apart from the bell icon notification, a ring with the word ‘Live’ on the profile picture will be the new indicator for live streaming in a channel.
The feature will make it easier for users to know which channel is currently live as they browse YouTube and to jump directly to the channel for the broadcast.
The Live feature is already in use in other social media content sharing platforms like TikTok and Instagram. TikTok uses a similar ring with pulsing effect on channel profile picture to show live streaming on scrolling past their video in your feed. Instagram shows a colour ring around the profile picture, and they appear on the top, at the first of stories section.
Earlier YouTube integrated the Stories feature that was originally started by Snapchat and then was rapidly copied by Instagram. Seems like the live ring UI is also one such feature that needs to be present in most platforms, now in YouTube too. Another inspiration YouTube is taking from TikTok is ‘Shorts’. This feature lets a user browse short-form videos using a vertically scrolling feed.
