Add customised thumbnails on YouTube

Custom video and Shorts thumbnails let your audience view a quick snapshot of your content. You can choose from auto-generated suggested options or upload your own if your account is verified. Make sure that your thumbnail follows our Community Guidelines.

Note: Custom thumbnails for Shorts are currently only available to add in YouTube Studio on a computer. Your account must be verified to use this feature.

Add a custom video thumbnail

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. From the left menu, select Content .
3. Go to the video that you'd like to edit click .
4. Below 'Thumbnail', click Upload file to create a custom video thumbnail from an image on your device, or select Get suggestions to generate a thumbnail.
5. Click SAVE.

Add a custom Short thumbnail

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. From the left menu, select Content Shorts at the top.
3. Go to the Short that you'd like to edit click .
4. Below 'Thumbnail', click Upload file to create a custom Shorts thumbnail from an image on your device.
   • For uploaded files, the recommended aspect ratio is 9:16.
5. Click SAVE.

Note: It may take time for your thumbnail changes to appear on YouTube.

Watch how to add a custom video thumbnail

Watch the following video from the YouTube Creators channel if you'd like a tutorial on how to add a customised video thumbnail on YouTube.

How to add custom thumbnails to your YouTube videos

✨HOW TO✨ UPLOAD a custom Shorts thumbnail

Subscribe to the YouTube Creators channel for the latest news, updates and tips.

Get creator tips for video thumbnails.

Generate thumbnails using Ask Studio

Use Ask Studio to get suggestions on custom thumbnails for your videos. Ask Studio analyses your video's transcript and themes to suggest thumbnails that are tailored to your video.

To generate a thumbnail:

1. Open Ask Studio within your publishing workflow.
2. Enter a prompt like 'Create a thumbnail'.
   • In the chat box, click Add to select your video for suggestions or upload reference images.
3. Use follow-up prompts to make any changes.
   • For example, you can prompt Ask Studio to make the text on your thumbnail larger.
4. Review the generated suggestions.

Customised thumbnail best practices

Image size and resolution

Your customised thumbnail image should be as large as possible. It will be used as the preview image in the embedded player. We recommend that your customised thumbnails:

• Have a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels for videos and 2160 x 3840 for Shorts, with a minimum width of 640 pixels for videos and a minimum height of 640 pixels for Shorts.
• Be uploaded in image formats such as JPG or PNG.
• Remain under MB limits. Limits depend on the device that you're using to upload your thumbnail:
  • Mobile: 2 MB for video thumbnails or 10 MB for podcasts.
  • Desktop: 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails.
• For videos, try to upload a thumbnail with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• For Shorts, try to upload a thumbnail with an aspect ratio of 9:16.
• For podcast playlists, upload a thumbnail with an aspect ratio of 1:1 instead of 16:9.

Note: Vertical videos with 16:9 custom thumbnails will be replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages. Your custom thumbnail will still appear on the watch feed, watch history and non-mobile platforms.

Thumbnail policies

All customised thumbnail images must follow our Community Guidelines. Your thumbnails may be rejected and a strike placed on your account if it contains:

• Nudity or sexually provocative content
• Hate speech
• Violence
• Harmful or dangerous content

Repeat offences may lead to the removal of your custom thumbnail privileges for 30 days or even account termination. Learn more about Community Guidelines strikes.

If a strike is issued, you'll get an email and see an alert in your channel settings the next time that you sign in to YouTube. You can appeal the strike if you think that your thumbnails don't violate the YouTube Community Guidelines. If your appeal is approved and you haven't already replaced the thumbnail, we may restore it.

Customised thumbnail limits

There's a limit to how many custom thumbnails a channel can upload each day. If you get an error saying 'Daily custom thumbnail limit reached' when trying to upload a thumbnail, try again in 24 hours.

Limits may vary by country/region or channel history. Copyright strikes may impact channel history eligibility. Community Guidelines strikes will affect how many customised thumbnails you can upload.

Why are my customised thumbnails turned off?

YouTube may turn off customised thumbnails for certain search results when they're considered inappropriate for viewers.

All customised thumbnail images must follow our Community Guidelines.