Google is killing a stolen YouTube feature

Google is putting an end to YouTube Stories, a feature it borrowed from platforms like Snapchat in 2017. According to a support post made by the company, the feature will shut down on June 26, 2023. YouTube is now encouraging creators to use Community posts and Shorts instead of YouTube Stories.

“Starting on 6/26/2023, the option to create a new YouTube Story will no longer be available. Stories that are already live on that date will expire seven days after they were originally shared,” the platform announced.

YouTube Stories was a feature limited to mobile devices. The videos were not meant for long-tail content and were auto-deleted after a period of seven days.

Earlier in May, YouTube expanded access to Community posts to all creators. You no longer need over 500 subscribers to enable the Community tab on your channels. Many of the features of YouTube Stories are available for Community posts, such as editing tools and the ability for posts to expire in 24 hours.

“With new features for both Shorts and Community posts to be announced throughout the year, we are committed to investing in new and innovative tools to help you grow your audiences across YouTube,” Team YouTube noted in its post.