Reddit adds native video in ‘rich content’ push

Social discussion website Reddit is adding new video functionality, allowing users to upload and share videos and gifs directly to the site.

The move follows Reddit’s introduction of native image hosting last year and native video adverts earlier this year, and was by its own admission a “massive undertaking”.

“Reddit is home to more than 100,000 of the internet’s most passionate and engaged communities, and we want to give all of them the best tools to express themselves and engage in deeper conversations,” said the company in blog post titled ‘video is coming’.

The extension of the Reddit video beta is designed to make it easier for Reddit users to capture, upload, and share videos and gifs to the service.

Previously, the only way users could post video or gifs was by uploading to a third party service like YouTube or Giphy and then copying and pasting the URL into a discussion thread.

Reddit described the video rollout as a “giant step forward” in its efforts to bring rich content to the site and said that video offers a “unique new format for expression and interruption-free engagement”.

Reddit is introducing video across iOS, Android, and desktop at the same time. Users can record video in the Reddit app or select a pre-recorded video to upload from their mobile or desktop.

Videos of up to 15 minutes in length in either the MP4 or MOV format are supported, and Reddit’s gif converter will also let users convert uploaded videos into MP4 gifs.

“Because our video platform keeps a small preview window open at the top of the screen as you browse the comments below, you can transition seamlessly between viewing, lurking, and commenting on Reddit videos,” said the company.

“To ensure we’re offering our users a best-in-class experience, it was important to roll this out slowly, soliciting feedback from individual Redditors, video and gif communities, mod teams, and content creators along the way.”

Reddit defines itself as ‘the front page of the internet’ and is a huge collection of online message board-style discussions arranged around users-generated topics and communities.

The site is the eight-most popular in the world, and the fourth biggest by traffic in the US according to Alexa web rankings. By comparison, Twitter is ranked 12th on a global level and eighth in the US by Alexa.

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