<p>YouTube Shorts -- the video-sharing website's quick clips meant to compete with TikTok -- are racking up 3.5 billion views a day during beta testing in India, the platform's head said Tuesday.</p>.<p>Susan Wojcikci explained the feature in a note laying out her 2021 priorities.</p>.<p>"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!" she said.</p>.<p>"We're looking forward to expanding Shorts to more markets this year."</p>.<p>YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, unveiled Shorts in mid-September, describing the videos as "a new way to express yourself in 15 seconds or less."</p>.<p>The feature, directly integrated into the existing YouTube interface, is currently only available in India as part of development work.</p>.<p>The new format is seen as a way for Google to compete with Gen Z-favorite TikTok, which currently has 700 million users worldwide.</p>.<p>Former president Donald Trump had threatened to ban TikTok -- owned by Chinese group ByteDance -- from the United States when he accused the company, without formal proof, of spying on behalf of Beijing.</p>.<p>Facebook-owned Instagram responded to TikTok's popularity with their own short video format called Reels last August.</p>.<p>And in November, Snapchat launched Spotlight, a public feed of content produced by users.</p>
<p>YouTube Shorts -- the video-sharing website's quick clips meant to compete with TikTok -- are racking up 3.5 billion views a day during beta testing in India, the platform's head said Tuesday.</p>.<p>Susan Wojcikci explained the feature in a note laying out her 2021 priorities.</p>.<p>"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!" she said.</p>.<p>"We're looking forward to expanding Shorts to more markets this year."</p>.<p>YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, unveiled Shorts in mid-September, describing the videos as "a new way to express yourself in 15 seconds or less."</p>.<p>The feature, directly integrated into the existing YouTube interface, is currently only available in India as part of development work.</p>.<p>The new format is seen as a way for Google to compete with Gen Z-favorite TikTok, which currently has 700 million users worldwide.</p>.<p>Former president Donald Trump had threatened to ban TikTok -- owned by Chinese group ByteDance -- from the United States when he accused the company, without formal proof, of spying on behalf of Beijing.</p>.<p>Facebook-owned Instagram responded to TikTok's popularity with their own short video format called Reels last August.</p>.<p>And in November, Snapchat launched Spotlight, a public feed of content produced by users.</p>