YouTube expands direct messaging to the US

In its announcement when it launched its renewed effort to bring DMs to its platform, YouTube said that it has been a top feature request. This rollout builds on the positive feedback it's gotten from the the countries where it has been live for the past few months. To use the feature, just tap the Messages button that you'll see on the top right corner of the YouTube app and then tap "Invite to chat." You can send the invite to anybody on the platform you want to talk to, and they will have the power to choose whether to Accept or Decline it.

You probably already use a plethora of messaging apps — I know I do — but the idea is to make it easier to share YouTube videos and Reels to your friends. That said, YouTube makes it clear that you'll still be able to easily send videos through your other apps even if you're now part of the experiment. YouTube says it will expand DM testing even further, so it may be available to you in the future if your country doesn't have access to it yet.