Create YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts is a way for anyone to turn an idea into a chance to connect with new audiences anywhere in the world. All you need is a smartphone and the Shorts camera built right into the YouTube app to create Shorts up to three minutes long. The latest Shorts creation tools make it fast, fun, and easy to be a creator on YouTube.

YouTube Shorts

The Shorts camera in the YouTube app is not available on tablets right now.

To create Shorts on the go, download the latest YouTube app on your smartphone.

Create a Short

✨NEW✨ Add LINKS🔗 in your SHORTS🩳

Creating a Short with YouTube’s short-form video creation tools allows you to record one or more clips that add up to three minutes. While recording with the Shorts camera, use the progress bar at the top of your screen to see how many segments you’ve recorded, and the length of each.

Note: If your Short is longer than one minute, you won't be able to use the audio picker to add sound. This is because Shorts over one minute with copyrighted music will be blocked on YouTube. Learn more about claimed content that is over one minute.

To create a short video on YouTube:

1. Sign in to the YouTube app .
2. Tap Create and select Short.
3. Hold Capture  or tap it to start recording and then again to stop.
   • Note: You can change the duration on the upper-right corner. 
4. Once you’re done recording, you can:
   • Add music, apply filters, or use other effects to enhance your recording.
   • Tap Undo  to remove the previous video clip you recorded or tap Redo  to add it back.
   • Tap Close Delete or Save and exit. Saving a draft at this point saves any edits you've made.
5. Tap Done . From here, you can:
   • Preview your video. 
   • Add sounds, text-to-speech, and other effects. 
   • Tap Back to return to the record screen.
6. Tap NEXT to add details to your video.
   • From this screen, add a title (max 100 characters), and choose settings, like video privacy. 
     • Note: The default video privacy setting for creators aged 13–17 is private. If you’re 18 or older, your default video privacy setting is set to public. Everyone can change this setting to make their video public, private, or unlisted.
   • Tap Select audience “Yes, it’s made for kids" or "No, it’s not made for kids" to choose your audience. Learn more about made for kids.
7. Tap UPLOAD SHORT to publish your Short.

Note: You can upload Short videos with a maximum resolution of 1080p.

Save your Short as a draft

You can save your Short as a draft before you upload to come back and edit later.

There’s no limit to the number of drafts that you can keep at one time. Note that drafts are saved to your device and not to your YouTube channel. If you delete the YouTube app or replace your device, you lose your drafts.

To find your drafts in the YouTube app:

1. Tap Create Short.
2. Create your Short tap Next.
3. In the lower-right corner, tap Drafts.
4. From here, you can select a draft to edit or delete it from your device.

Select a thumbnail

How to CHOOSE your Shorts ✨Thumbnail✨

You can choose a frame from your Short to be used as the thumbnail before and after you upload your Shorts.

Here’s how to select a thumbnail for your Short:

1. Tap Create Short.
2. Record your Short and enter video detail.
3. Navigate to the final upload screen tap the Edit on the thumbnail of your video.
4. Select a frame to use as your thumbnail. 
   • Tip: You can add text and apply filters to your thumbnail. Once done with an edit, you cannot go back to previous edits to make any changes.
5. Tap Done.

Enhance your Shorts while recording

Top Advice for Growing on Shorts: Hear from Top UK Creators 🔥

Add music or other audio

How to add music to your Shorts

Accompany your Shorts with a song or other audio clip. The music and sounds found in our library are free of charge to use, but only for personal, non-commercial use, unless you have the appropriate licenses.

To find our Audio Library when you’re ready to record, tap Add sound make your selection.

Note that if you use copyright-protected content in your Shorts created outside of YouTube's creation tools, your video may get a Content ID claim or be removed due to a copyright removal request.

Adjust recording speed

#Shorts Speed Tool Tricks

Tap Speed to speed up or slow down recording.

Record with a timer

Tap Timer to set the countdown to record hands-free and choose when to automatically stop recording.

Apply filters

Tap Filters to pick from a selection of creative and contrasting filters that let you change the vibe of your Short. You can add different filters to each segment as you record. You can also apply a filter in the editing screen later.

Apply effects

Tap Effects to choose from a selection of compelling effects to help enhance your Short. Explore new concepts, change your appearance, or use an AI effect for a surprising transformation.

Add a background

How to GREEN SCREEN yourself into any Photo or Video from your Camera Roll

While in the record screen, tap Green screen to use a photo or video from your device’s gallery as a background in your Short.

Align frames

Hit the perfect transition with the Shorts Align tool

Tap Align to line up your next clip using a transparent overlay of the last frame you captured.

Adjust segments

How to easily trim clips for Shorts

Tap Trim to choose the perfect starting point or trim video segments that are a part of your Short.

Import segments

How to quickly make Shorts with videos & photos from your camera roll

While in the record screen, tap the gallery button in the lower-left corner to import clips into your Short or select a longer video to trim to 60 seconds or less.

Navigating the import experience is easy:

• For videos over 60 seconds, use the slider to quickly jump to the desired moment in your video.
• Tap and drag the handles on the video filmstrip to choose where the video starts and ends.
• Tap the duration (15 seconds or 60 seconds) in the upper-right corner to change the length of your Short.

Add stickers, sound and text after you've recorded

Add sound

To add a song or other sound bite after you record, tap Sound make your selection.

Use Volume to adjust audio levels across music, your original video’s audio, and voiceover.

Note that if you use copyright-protected content in your Shorts created outside of YouTube's creation tools, your video may get a Content ID claim or be removed due to a copyright removal request.

Add text

Tap Text to put text on your video after you record. Place multiple messages over your video and change the color, style, and alignment on the screen.

You can also use Timeline for even more control.

Add stickers

Note: When a viewer responds to your question, their responses become a comment that will be public and visible to other viewers.

Q&A sticker

Q&A Sticker ✨ on Shorts!

To add a Q&A sticker after you've recorded, tap Sticker Q&A type the question that you’d like to ask your viewers. You can change the color, size, and placement of the sticker.

"Add yours" sticker

NEW: Add Yours Sticker

To add a “Add yours” sticker after you've recorded, tap Sticker Add yours to participate in trends and conversations by answering prompts with your own Short. Then your audience can add their response with a Short of their own. You can discover different prompts in the feed to take inspiration and then connect with others by adding your own.

Poll sticker

HOW TO: Add a POLL STICKER to your Short ✅

Note: The poll sticker can't be applied to unlisted or private Shorts.

To add a poll sticker after you've recorded, tap Sticker Poll and get real-time feedback on your Short. You can add 2 options for your audience to choose from. The poll remains open as long as the Short is published and set to publish so that viewers can change their vote.

Quiz sticker

Note: Quizzes on Made for Kids Shorts as well as unlisted or private Shorts aren’t interactive.

To add a quiz sticker after you’ve recorded, tap Sticker Quiz. Enter your question (up to 3 lines) and two answer options (up to 2 lines each). If your video already shows the question, you can leave the question field blank and just add answer options. The first option is automatically set as the correct answer.

You can customize the sticker by changing the default correct answer and the color. Once you’re ready to post it, just tap outside the sticker and tap Next.

Once posted, the quiz remains interactive for you and your viewers. Everyone can see if they answered correctly or incorrectly after taking the quiz. Individual responses remain anonymous.

Record voiceover

Use the voiceover feature to narrate what happens in your video.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Tap Voiceover at the bottom of the editing screen to open the voiceover editor.
2. Move the playhead left or right to the spot you want to start your voiceover.
3. Hold the red record button or tap it to start recording and then again to stop.
4. Tap Undo to remove your narration or tap Redo to add it back.

Use Volume to adjust audio levels across music, your original video’s audio, and voiceover.

Adjust timeline

Tap Timeline to edit when text is shown in your Short.

Drag the start and stop points of a text clip to control when text shows in your Short and when it disappears. Use this feature to trigger different messages at different times in your video.

To reorder text clips, tap and hold them. Move clips from top to bottom to control the front to back order your text is shown.

Add filters

Tap Filters to add a filter. Choose from a number of creative and contrasting filters to change the look and feel of your Short.

Add comments

You can reply to comments posted on your channel with Shorts. Just like text comment replies, the Shorts you create as replies will let the commenter know and show up in the comment feed below the original comment. Learn how to reply to comments with a Short.

Text-to-Speech

HOW TO: Turn TEXT into VOICEOVER Tracks

Note:

• The text you generate is sent to a server and a model generates the voice which is then applied to the video.

You can use Text-to-Speech to help narrate your Shorts.

1. While in the recording screen, tap Text .
2. Add your text.
3. In the top corner, tap Add voice .
   • Note: You can edit the voiceover options by tapping the text.

Get Shorts editing tips.