YouTube Reintroduces DM Feature, Expands Testing to 31 European Countries to Enhance Social Attributes
YouTube is retesting the direct message (DM) feature, which was removed in 2019 due to low usage, with a new version launching at the end of 2025. The testing has now expanded from Ireland and Poland to 31 European countries, allowing users to privately message videos, Shorts, and live streams through the share menu within the app.
The new DM feature is targeted at users aged 18 and above, introducing privacy controls such as a 7-day validity period for invitation links, supporting emoji replies and group chats, aimed at reducing user drop-off when sharing content outside the app. This move continues YouTube's attempts to transform into a more social platform, although it remains in a limited testing phase.
The attention capital of creators and users is increasingly shifting towards social features within the platform, seeking higher retention and interaction. YouTube benefits from a closed-loop experience, while external social apps face pressure, with funding flowing towards platforms that enhance native communication tools, accelerating the shift of video consumption towards community dialogue.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
YouTube first launched the DM feature in 2017 but closed it in 2019 due to low activity, subsequently focusing on video recommendation algorithms and creator tools. This repeated attempt resembles its early community feature iteration path, which successfully increased watch time through live streaming and Shorts, but social interaction has always been a weakness.
On the capital front, Google is investing YouTube's advertising and Premium revenue resources into developing social features, motivated by the need to enhance user time and stickiness to compete against TikTok and others, reducing external traffic loss through internal sharing, and concentrating resources on optimizing mobile experiences to lock in younger users.
Similar to how Instagram and TikTok evolved from content to social messaging, the short video platform industry is currently transitioning from passive viewing to active interaction, and YouTube's DM testing is catching up with this trend.
Essentially, this is a restructuring of the industry chain, with the DM feature shifting video platforms from one-way content distribution to two-way community interaction, leading to a transfer of pricing power and user attention from external social links to YouTube's closed loop. By optimizing privacy, it reduces regulatory risks and strengthens data accumulation, forcing competitors to accelerate the deployment of similar features to maintain ecosystem dominance.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Content attracts traffic, social locks in time.
Removing features forgets lessons, restarting tests earns stickiness.
External drop-off loses users, platform closed loop earns ecosystem.