YouTube has brought back direct messaging to its mobile app after scrapping the feature in 2019, allowing users to send private messages to one another to share videos or simply chat.
The Google-owned video platform had been one of few social media apps without DMs, a central feature of platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Threads.
Google says direct messaging was one of the most requested features by YouTube users in recent times and that it was bringing it back after a "positive user response" in countries where the feature was already tested.
It did not comment on the feature's absence for the past six years. In 2019, the company surprised users by announcing that it was axing DMs so that Google could "focus on improving public conversations."
A new message icon button has appeared in the top right of the application to enable the feature, and users can also invite others to a chat using the share button below videos, Google announced in a blog post in early June.
Users can also block other users and report content. Messages that have already been sent can also be deleted — they then disappear for both parties in the chat.
Users must be at least 18 years old and signed in to a personal YouTube channel in order to send direct messages. The messages are not end-to-end encrypted, and all content is subject to YouTube's community guidelines.
Anyone who has not yet seen the feature appear in their app should check their app store to see whether an update is available to install.
