How to Share a YouTube Video at a Specific Start Time
This article describes how to share a specific time in a YouTube video on a desktop browser, as well as how to create a manual timestamp and a workaround for mobile devices.
How to Create a Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video
When you want to share a specific segment of a YouTube video, linking to a specific time within the video is a useful technique, especially if the segment begins playing several minutes after the video begins.
On a desktop browser, linking to the precise portion of any YouTube video is simple. Follow these steps to locate the video you wish to share on YouTube.com.
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Click Share directly beneath the video.
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In the pop-up box, check the box next to Start at.
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Enter the desired start time for the video. If you pushed the share button at the exact moment you want the video to begin, the proper time may be listed.
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Select Copy to copy the URL’s time stamp. You may have noticed that the link now contains additional characters. These additional characters are used to instruct YouTube to link to the selected time.
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Copy the link and paste it wherever you’d like, or use one of the social sharing buttons to share it. The video will begin playing at the time you specify for anyone who opens your link.
Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video by Creating a Timestamp
You can manually link to a particular time within a video by including? t=00m00s until the conclusion of a brief YouTube link. Replace 00m with the minute indicator and 00s with the second indicator. For longer URLs that already contain a question mark, append an ampersand: &t=00s.
Timestamping Videos Shorter Than One Minute
If the duration of the video is less than one minute, you can omit the “00m” section. For instance, https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ becomes https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ? t=42s when a time marker beginning at 42 seconds is added.
Timestamping Videos Longer Than One Minute
For lengthy films, hours are also supported with 00h and, if necessary, 00s. For instance:
v=SkgTxQm9DWM&ab channel=BufuSounds&t=8h10s
YouTube makes things so quick and simple that you shouldn’t have to do it manually, but there’s no harm in learning nonetheless. Knowing how this is accomplished manually enhances your comprehension of the significance of these extra characters.
Share a Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video
On the official YouTube mobile app for iOS and Android devices, there is a share button that allows you to copy the video link and share it to social apps, but there is no Start at checkbox or field. This feature is only accessible via a web browser when viewing a YouTube video.
If you want to link to a specific time within a YouTube video on your mobile device, you have a few options:
- Open the video in a browser app, such as Chrome, and change the browser’s settings to load YouTube’s desktop site instead of its mobile version (select Desktop site from the Chrome menu). Then, follow the above instructions to generate the time-stamped URL.
- Link to a specific time by manually creating a time stamp (see below).
Why Linking to a Specific Time Matters
Internet users have short attention spans, so forcing them to watch a four- or five-minute video in which the best part doesn’t begin until the halfway point may cause them to give up and close the video out of frustration.
YouTube hosts thousands of shareable videos lasting several minutes to several hours. If you are sharing an hour-long video of a public speaking presentation on Facebook, your friends will appreciate it if you link to the exact time when something interesting occurs.
Now, more than ever, people watch YouTube on their mobile devices. They have no time to sit through a lengthy introduction and other unimportant material before getting to the meat of the matter.
You are not doing anyone a disservice by linking to a relevant point in a video when you choose to share it at a specific time. Viewers can restart the video if they wish to watch the entire thing. The YouTube video player begins buffering and playing without modification at the time you specify.
Conclusion
As much as possible YouTubers try to make videos short and to the point. However, if a video needs to be longer, you can still help visitors navigate to the relevant parts by adding Timestamp to YouTube links or Timestamping YouTube descriptions. This will save your viewers time and enhance the user experience by allowing them to go directly to the most relevant portion of the video.
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