YouTube Shorts
Introduced globally in July 2021, YouTube Shorts are short-form videos on the YouTube platform that are 15 to 60 seconds long. YouTube Shorts are shown as vertical videos, which makes them ideal for smartphones, but they can also be viewed using any computer or mobile device.
Users of TikTok or Facebook Stories should notice a similar feeling to how YouTube Shorts appear and are browsed. Those unfamiliar with TikTok or Facebook Stories can understand how they're used by navigating YouTube Shorts.
What does a YouTube Short look like?
Unlike the traditional videos you're used to seeing, YouTube Shorts are vertical videos designed to be viewed on a smartphone. The video shown to the right is an example of a YouTube Short explaining what it is.
How do I find and play YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts appear on your desktop and smartphone timeline on YouTube and are displayed in portrait rather than landscape mode like typical YouTube videos. When you click or tap one of the Shorts, it shows the video in full-screen mode.
To pause, click or tap the video. To view the next video, swipe up on a smartphone or click the down arrow in the bottom-right corner of the desktop screen.
Although our embedded example on this page does allow you to fast forward and rewind, these actions are not available on YouTube.
How to upload a YouTube Short
YouTube Shorts are easiest to create and upload using the YouTube app on your smartphone. However, Shorts can also be uploaded from your computer using the following steps.
- Open and log in to YouTube Studio.
- In the top-right corner, click the CREATE button and select Upload Video.
- Select a video file no longer than 60 seconds with a vertical aspect ratio of 9:16 (1080 width x 1920 height px).
When describing the video, include "#Shorts" in the description to help those looking for YouTube Shorts.