Yelp plans to add new video feature to its reviews

By Loren Grush May 22, 2014

yelp pans add new video feature reviews — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Sometimes the written word just isn’t enough to truly convey what you mean — especially when describing your favorite brunch place. That’s why the social review site Yelp is letting users take their opinions one step further.

On Thursday, Yelp confirmed that it will be adding a new video feature to its mobile app, allowing users to upload short clips along with their written reviews. The company’s mobile product manager, Madhu Prabaker, told Business Insider that the new feature will allow users to better capture the atmosphere of a restaurant or business.

“It will be a reward for businesses that go to great lengths to achieve a certain ambiance, whether by having a certain lighting or the music at just the right level,” Prabaker said.

The video option will be available for “elite” Yelp members starting in June before becoming available for everyone. The videos must be between three and 12 seconds each, and once recorded, users will have the option of choosing a cover photo and writing a short caption to go along with it.

Yelp will utilize its current system for filtering photos so that nothing inappropriate makes it through. As more users submit videos, the ones voted most helpful will show up first on the top of the app’s photo and video feed.

So get ready Yelp users: Everyone’s opinions are about to get a whole lot louder.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Loren Grush is a science and health writer living in New York City, having written for Fox News Health, Fox News SciTech and…

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