YouTube's New Features: Longer Shorts & 'Add Yours' Stickers

New Engagement Tools and Format Shifts for YouTube Shorts

YouTube is continuing to iterate on its short-form video strategy, introducing new ways for creators to spark community interaction and reconsidering the very definition of what constitutes a “Short.” From experimental stickers that drive user-generated content to discussions about extending video length, these updates signal a push toward deeper viewer participation.

Boosting Community Interaction with the “Add Yours” Sticker

One of the most notable experiments currently underway is the introduction of the “Add Yours“ sticker. This feature is designed to act as a direct call-to-action (CTA), inviting viewers to contribute their own perspective or content to a story started by the creator.

When a creator uses this sticker, they are essentially prompting their audience to submit their own Shorts in response to a specific theme or question. For viewers, clicking on the sticker allows them to see other responses and add their own. These viewer-submitted videos are then marked as replies to the original Short.

Reach and Visibility

A key point of uncertainty regarding this experiment is how these reply videos are distributed. It remains unclear whether these submissions will only be visible to those who click the “Add Yours” sticker on the original video, or if a viewer-submitted Short can generate its own independent reach within the wider YouTube ecosystem. While it is reasonable to assume that these videos could potentially find their own audience independently, this has not yet been confirmed.

Privacy Considerations for Creators

While the “Add Yours” sticker is a powerful tool for generating user-generated content (UGC), creators should be mindful of the privacy implications. Because these responses are public, some viewers may feel uncomfortable responding to a prompt if they do not wish to have their content linked publicly to a specific thread. When encouraging your community to participate, it is worth considering that not every viewer will want to engage in this public manner.

The Competitive Landscape

The “Add Yours” functionality is not a novel concept in the social media space; it is a feature heavily utilized by Instagram. YouTube’s adoption of similar tools suggests a desire to match the engagement capabilities of its competitors. However, some may argue that by frequently adding features inspired by other platforms, YouTube risks spreading its resources too thin rather than focusing on perfecting a unique direction for its own ecosystem.

The Debate Over Longer Shorts

Beyond interactive stickers, there is ongoing discussion regarding the duration of Shorts. In a recent interview on the Creator Insider channel, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Johanna, discussed the possibility of longer Shorts.

This potential change raises a fundamental conceptual question: what defines a “Short”? Currently, there is a distinction between uploading a standard vertical video and uploading a Short to utilize specific Shorts-only features.

The Case for “Verticals”

If YouTube continues to increase the maximum length of Shorts, the term “Shorts” may become a misnomer. A more logical conclusion would be to rebrand these as “Verticals.” By shifting the terminology, YouTube could offer a consistent vertical video experience where features are available regardless of whether the video is 15 seconds or several minutes long. This would resolve the current tension between the “Shorts” branding and the desire for longer content, especially since uploading longer vertical videos is already possible on the platform.

Managing Channel Info and Legal Compliance

Outside of the Shorts ecosystem, YouTube has implemented changes to how contact information is handled in channel info boxes.

The Contact Email Captcha Issue

In the channel settings, creators have the option to provide a contact email address. Traditionally, users could view this address on the channel page after solving a captcha. However, there are reports that while the option to enter the email still exists in the backend, the mechanism for viewers to solve the captcha and display the email is currently non-functional. It remains unclear if this is an intentional design change or a bug resulting from recent UI updates.

Importance of the Digital Services Act (DSA)

This technical glitch has practical implications for creators who are subject to provider identification obligations. Under paragraph 5 of the Digital Services Act (DSA), certain creators must ensure they can be reached electronically and quickly.

To remain compliant with these regulations, creators should take the following steps:

1. Verify your contact settings: Check if your email is correctly entered in your channel info.
2. Provide alternatives: Since the captcha system may be unreliable, ensure you have a clear link to your legal notice (Impressum) where a valid email address is provided.
3. Direct visibility: Consider including your contact email directly in your channel description or “About” section to ensure you are reachable as required by law.

Whether these updates to Shorts and channel management are welcomed or viewed with skepticism, they highlight YouTube’s ongoing effort to balance community engagement with regulatory requirements and competitive feature parity.

Original transcript

Transcript

YouTube is currently experimenting with a so-called “Add Yours“ sticker, meaning “add your part of the story.” This means that as a creator, I can set a call-to-action, encouraging viewers to submit their own Shorts. These will then be marked as replies to the original Short when clicked on the sticker. Within this experiment, it’s unclear whether this will be the only way to see replies or if a viewer-submitted Short can also generate reach independently. I would initially assume the latter. As mentioned, it’s unclear. However, you should check with your viewers to see if there are people who might not want to respond publicly. I find this a bit tricky, just so you know.

What cannot be denied is that this is an Instagram feature that the YouTube team has been heavily inspired by. You could put it that way. Again, I have the feeling that YouTube is trying to please everyone and dance on all weddings, without committing to one direction and pooling resources to actually complete and excel at something. I find that a bit disappointing. It’s another feature that consumes resources and slows down necessary, pending development goals. That’s my take on it. Please share your thoughts in the comments.

At this point, a quick plug: We’re on our way to 1000 subscribers. Support us in reaching this goal so you stay informed about YouTube updates. And I’d say we’ll get back to the topic of Shorts, as there was an interview in the last few days on the Creator Insider channel where the YouTube CEO and Chief Product Officer, I think her name is Johanna, among other things, discussed longer Shorts. This is something that, in my opinion, goes against the fundamental concept of Shorts. If I want to upload a vertical video, I can do that. If I want to upload a Short to utilize Short features, I can also do that.

The logical conclusion would be to not call them Shorts but “Verticals” instead. Then I can vary in length and make the features available for Shorts also available for Verticals, thus offering viewers a better vertical video experience. That would be the logical conclusion, rather than simply making Shorts longer because it’s already possible to upload longer videos in vertical format. I have mixed feelings about this. What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Lastly, there’s a change regarding channel info boxes. In the settings, there’s now an option to provide a contact address that users can display by solving a captcha on the channel page. While there’s still the option to enter this email address, there’s no longer a way to solve the captcha and display the email. Whether this is an intended change or if it broke because YouTube once again moved UI elements around is currently unclear. We’re looking into it so you don’t wonder. And if you are subject to provider identification obligations, please make sure to either link to your legal notice where an email address is provided, or include the email address in your channel info so you can be electronically reached quickly, as stated in paragraph 5 of the Digital Services Act (DSA). You know what to do, please check if everything is in order on your end.

And I’d say we’ll see you next week for more YouTube updates. Until then, take care and keep going!

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