YouTube shorts – the new short video clips from YouTube –
are manging to get close to 3.5 billion views a day during beta testing in India,
the platform’s head said on Tuesday, AFP reported.

“So far, videos in our new Shorts player –
which helps people around the world watch short videos on YouTube – are
receiving an impressive 3.5 billion daily views!”, AFP quoted YouTube CEO
Susan Wojcicki as saying. The new feature was introduced in India
months after a ban imposed on TikTok, a similar short video-clip application.

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“We’re looking forward to expand Shorts to
more markets this year”, Wojcicki was further quoted as saying.

YouTube unveiled Shorts in mid-September, referring
to the videos as a medium to express oneself within 15 seconds or less.

“YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to 60
seconds in length. In addition to showing on your channel, viewers may find
your short-form video on the homepage Shorts shelf and tap into a new vertical
viewing experience, made for short videos”, YouTube support stated while describing
the format, displaying a note at the same time, which stated that creators in
India can now use the Shorts camera, while other creators were asked to use ‘#shorts’ in the description or in the title of a particular video to get started with the
format.

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The format is seen as a way for Google to
compete with Gen Z-favourite TikTok, currently boasting over 700 million users
worldwide.

Facebook-owned Instagram responded with its own
Instagram Reels, an apparent response to TikTok, in August 2020.