Six years after YouTube kicked direct messages to the curb, the platform is bringing them back.Announced Wednesday after six months of testing, YouTube now allows users to share videos through a rebooted messaging feature. In Nov. 2025, platform owner Google described DMs as a "top feature request."
Direct messages will appear on YouTube's app as a new messaging icon, through which you can send an invite to friends to share videos. Users will be able to accept or decline the invite, in a move that'll hopefully tackle spam and creeps. The only catch is that you'll need to be over 18 with your age verified, and signed in to a personal YouTube channel with your Google Account to send them.
The new DMs icon sits next to "Cast".
YouTube removed direct messages from the platform in 2019, two years after launching them in 2017. At the time Google said it was "reevaluating our priorities" and instead focusing on updates to public conversations like comments and posts.
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