YouTube has added another function to it's ever expanding roster. 

The popular format introduced by Snapchat -then adapted by Instagram and Facebook - is now on it's way to YouTube. The video platform's own spin on stories will be called 'Reels'.

Reels will work in a different way to most 'stories' functions. Instead of being a separate feature at the top of a feed, they’ll appear in a brand-new tab on a creator’s channel.

The release of Reels was mentioned briefly in a YouTube blog post yesterday. 

"We learned that you want the flexibility to create multiple Reels and have them not expire, so we’ll give you those options." YouTube stated in the blog. 

Reels are posted to a separate tab on a creator's page, so watching them is optional for users.

However, if the engagement is high, then YouTube will probably start to merge Reels in to standard video recommendations.

YouTube is constantly expanding in order to improve their community engagement tools. The platform recently introduuced Community - a mini social network inside a YouTuber's channel, allowing creators and fans to share updates using text, photos, GIFs and polls, in a similar vein to Facebook and Twitter.