Overview
- YouTube has reintroduced direct messages in its mobile app, enabling signed-in users to chat and forward videos through a built-in messaging interface.
- The feature is available only to users aged 18 or older with a personal YouTube channel and is being rolled out via app updates, so some users must update their app to see it.
- Users access messages through a new message-icon button at the top right of the app or by using the Share button beneath videos, and they can send clips within chats.
- Safety tools include the ability to block accounts, report content, and unsend messages so messages disappear for both chat participants.
- Messages are not end-to-end encrypted and are subject to YouTube’s Community Guidelines and moderation, a trade-off that speeds enforcement but limits private-only access.