This article details a workaround for mobile devices, how to manually date a YouTube video, and how to share a specific moment in a YouTube video on a desktop browser.
How to Create a Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video
When you want to share a specific section of a movie on YouTube, linking to a specific time in the video is a terrific tactic to use, especially if the video is lengthy and the section you want to share begins several minutes into the playback.
On a desktop browser, it is simple to link to the precise section of any YouTube video. Find the video you wish to share on YouTube.com, then follow these directions.
- Click Share directly beneath the video.
-
In the pop-up box, check the box next to Start at.
-
Enter the time you want the video to start. The correct time may already be listed if you pressed the share button at the exact moment you want the video to start.
-
Select Copy to copy the time-stamped URL. You might notice that the link changed to include some extra characters. These extra characters are used to tell YouTube to link to the specific time that chose.
-
Paste the link wherever you want or select any of the social share buttons to share it. Anyone who opens your link will begin watching the video at the time you specified.
Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video by Creating a Timestamp
By including?t=00m00s at the end of a brief YouTube link, you can manually connect to a certain point in a video. The minute and second markers should be swapped out for 00m and 00s, respectively. Add an ampersand (&) to longer URLs that already contain a question mark, such as &t=00s.
Timestamping Videos Shorter Than One Minute
You can omit the “00m” section if the video is under one minute long. For instance, adding a time marker to start the video at 42 seconds causes the link https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ to change to https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=42s.
Timestamping Videos Longer Than One Minute
For long videos, hours are supported, too, using 00h and, if needed, the 00s. For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgTxQm9DWM&ab_channel=BufuSounds&t=8h10s
You shouldn’t have to do this manually at all because YouTube makes it quick and simple to do so, but it doesn’t hurt to learn. You’ll have a better concept of what those extra characters signify if you understand how this manually operates.
Share a Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video
You may have noticed that there is no Start at check box or field on the official YouTube mobile app for iOS and Android devices, only a share button that allows you to copy the video link and share it to social apps. Only web browsers that are used to view YouTube videos have access to this feature.
So you have a few choices if you want to use your smartphone to link to a certain moment in a YouTube video:
- Open the video from your browser app, like Chrome, and change the browser’s settings so that it loads YouTube’s desktop site rather than its mobile version (choose a Desktop site from Chrome’s menu). Then, follow the steps as they’re listed above to create the time-stamped URL.
- Link to a specific time by manually creating a timestamp (see below).
Internet users have short attention spans, so making them watch even a 4- or 5-minute video where the best part doesn’t begin until halfway through can be enough to drive them crazy and cause them to hurriedly close the video.
Thousands of shareable videos on YouTube range in length from a few minutes to several hours (here are some of our favorite 10-hour videos). Your friends will appreciate that you included a link to the precise moment in the video when something fascinating occurred if you were to post a video of an hour-long public speaking presentation on Facebook.
The increased use of mobile devices for YouTube viewing has resulted in lower attention spans than ever before. They don’t have time to wait around for a drawn-out introduction and other unimportant information before getting to the important parts.
You’re not doing anyone a disservice by connecting to an important moment when you choose to share a video at a specific time because viewers may rewind the film if they wish to watch it in its entirety. When you set the video without making any changes to it, the YouTube video player begins buffering and playing.
