YouTube testing time-specific emoji reactions

Google-owned video streaming platform YouTube today is testing timed-specific emoji reactions for a small group of users.

Viewers can throw out an emoji when a specific moment in a video resonates with them. Users can also get a feel for how others reacted throughout the duration of a video, reports Engadget.

There will be a separate reaction panel in the comment section of each video that will display emoji reactions by the moment, similar to features already offered by Facebook Live and Twitch.

"If you are watching a video that is part of this experiment, you can react and see crowd reactions by opening the comment section of the video and tapping into the reaction panel. The test will also show you which moments other viewers are reacting to (which will be anonymised -- we will not show who sent each reaction)," Meaghan, a representative from Team YouTube, was quoted as saying.

"We are testing multiple sets of reactions and will add or remove reactions based on how the experiment goes!," the spokesperson added.

Google frequently experiments with new features on YouTube, but they do not always become permanent. YouTube recently tested letting users time their comments to specific points in a video and hiding the "dislike" button.

Emoji reactions have been hit-or-miss on other social media platforms. Twitter experimented with emoji reactions to tweets last year, and reactions were largely ambivalent. But unlike tweets, videos are a lengthier medium and more likely to elicit a multitude of reactions.