Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
YouTube is doing away with Clips for users and replacing it with standard timestamps.
Clips will now be limited to creators only.
Video Clips will soon be expanded to Shorts, too.
The YouTube team is hard at work to make the mobile experience more enjoyable for users — for some of them, at least. A few days ago, it introduced a new option to limit Shorts. Now, it is bringing back a useful feature that enhances how you share videos. At the same time, it is also limiting a community-driven sharing feature to creators only.
YouTube recently updated a support document to indicate that the “Share at Timestamp” feature is now available in its mobile apps. When you share the video, include the exact timestamp so whoever clicks it is directed to that specific moment. To share a video with a timestamp, tap the Share button under the video progress bar, then toggle the timestamp, which will be added to the URL as a separate attribute.
The feature has been available on YouTube’s web interface for several years now. But unlike the web version, the mobile version does not let you enter a specific timestamp other than the video’s current progress. For that, you would still need to add “?t=
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Interestingly, the feature itself isn’t new; it’s merely being rolled out for the second time. YouTube initially introduced it in 2024, but removed it sometime over the following months. While the reason wasn’t specified, we’re glad it is returning to both the Android and iOS apps.
The death of a lucrative side hustle
YouTube says the decision to eliminate the feature is backed by the availability of “a number of third-party tools with advanced clipping features” on other video platforms. It could also be to limit users’ unauthorized generation of creators’ content. However, it also culls side hustles like Whop Clippingin which creators pay users to upload clips to their personal accounts to garner interest. Whopa microtask platform for hiring contractors, claims users can make “$1000+ per month posting Clips.”
While clipping is being taken away from users, creators will still be able to generate Clips using YouTube Studio. Additionally, the video juggernaut will add the option to auto-generate Clips directly from Shorts later this year, allowing creators to generate shorter vertical videos out of their existing ones.
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