Instagram, YouTube restrict users from sharing videos to TikTok

With the everyday rise in popularity of the Chinese short-video platform TikTok. Meta-owned Instagram and Google-owned YouTube have rolled out new features to prevent users of these short-video apps from sharing across platforms.

If you try to download a clip previously edited in Instagram Reels to an iPhone, the clip’s audio will disappear.

“It means if you want to export the footage from Reels to use in another app (like TikTok), you have to post the Reel first to save the sound," reports The Verge.

In recent times it was possible to download clips with audio that could further be used on other platforms like TikTok. However, now it's changing; creators can still post the Instagram-edited reel on TikTok, but the downloaded clip would have to be sent over to TikTok from Instagram itself.

As for creators who make videos on YouTube Shorts, they will not be able to download the video/clip and cross-post it on other short video platforms without a YouTube Watermark.

“If you’re a creator who downloads your Shorts from YouTube Studio to share across other platforms, you’ll now find a watermark added to your downloaded content,” YouTube said in an update.

“We’ve added a watermark to the Shorts you download so your viewers can see that the content you’re sharing across platforms can be found on YouTube Shorts,” the company added.

YouTube Shorts will soon be seen with an upgrade to feature on desktops and the company has plans to expand over the coming months.