YouTube may soon allow users to share specific timestamps of videos on mobile devices: How it can help users

YouTube is reportedly testing a simplified way to share specific timestamps or clips from a video. Currently, sharing a specific timestamp on YouTube’s mobile app involves several steps. According to a report by 9to5Google, this new feature will allow users to share a specific timestamp or clip directly from the In-app approval sheetHowever, the report did not provide any information on when Google plans to roll out this feature to all users. At TOI-Gadgets Now, we looked for the feature on YouTube version 19.33.35 for Android but couldn’t find it, which suggests that the company might be testing it with a limited set of users.

How this feature helps YouTube users

YouTube allows users to share additional timecodes or timestamps on mobile devices through the Clip feature. Currently, specific timestamps of a video can be shared by adding “&t=” and the corresponding time in the format “XmXXs”. For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jfQHMjHaPI&t=1m30s
This feature was also introduced for YouTube Shorts Earlier this year, the app “allows content creators to add clips from official music videos to their Shorts” was introduced.
However, this method limits the exact length and is a bit tricky as it requires users to trim the timeline. The result is a 60-second looping YouTube short of the selected content.
With this new feature, when users click the share button, they will see a switch in the top right corner of the share sheet. This switch allows users to share a specific part or moment of the video they are watching. This feature makes it easy to link directly to the exact timestamp you want to share with others.
The report also includes screenshots showing what the new switch will look like on the in-app share sheet once it’s available to all users.
On desktop, users can now manually enter a timecode, but on the YouTube mobile app, the app does not yet offer this option. Instead, users can adjust the time by scrolling through the video timeline.
Currently, this is the only way to change the timestamp in the share sheet. After users tap “Copy Link,” a text link is created that they can share in other apps. Since it’s a standard format from YouTube, users can edit this text link if they want to select a different time in the video.