YouTube working on TikTok competitor

YouTube is reportedly working on a feature that will enable users to make TikTok-like short videos that act as an alternative to longer vlogs and clips that appear on YouTube. It is currently a work in progress and is expected to launch by the end of 2020.

The feature is called "Shorts," and will live within YouTube's existing mobile app, according to The Information. "Shorts" will allow people to upload brief videos into a feed inside the mobile app, much like TikTok, and take advantage of licensed music that YouTube Music has in its catalog, according to The Information. Those songs can be used within the videos. TikTok operates by letting people choose from a selection of audio, music and otherwise, and create videos using those sounds.

This isn't the first time YouTube has aped features from rivals. YouTube also introduced Instagram-like Stories feed on YouTube, for creators to post photos and content in a systematic feed.

TikTok, a social media platform where users post short videos, was the most-downloaded app of 2019 with more than 700 million downloads. But US politicians have argued that the China-based company could pose a national security threat and have kicked off an investigation.

The US Army banned TikTok from government phones, heeding Pentagon guidance and a similar ban by the US Navy. The TSA stopped using TikTok videos in its social media posts last month. TikTok does now have an American content advisory panel.

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