Making clips

How to clip a YouTube video

YouTube no longer makes new Clips. Three ways to clip a YouTube video now: a Share at Timestamp link, a Short from your own video, or a clip file with captions.

Updated October 8, 20266 min read7 sources

In short

How do I clip a YouTube video?

There are three ways, and they give three different things. YouTube no longer lets you make a new Clip: on April 16, 2026, it announced that Share at Timestamp replaces the Clips feature. That link only sets a start time; it has no end and it is not a file. For a video on your own channel, YouTube Studio can turn part of it into a Short or a video clip. To get a video file you can post on TikTok, Instagram or X, with captions and a vertical crop, use a clip maker: paste the video’s link into FastClip, choose the start and end, and download the clip. Clip other people’s videos only with permission.

On this page

Which way fits what you want
Way 1: YouTube’s Share at Timestamp link
Why the Clip button is missing
Way 2: turn your own video into a Short
Way 3: make a clip file you can post anywhere
On iPhone, Android and PC
Clipping a video that is not yours
Questions
Sources

Which way fits what you want

You want	Use	What you get
To send a friend one moment	YouTube’s Share at Timestamp	A link to the whole video that starts at your moment, with no end
A Short from your own long video	The “Clips and Shorts” tool in YouTube Studio	A Short or a video clip on your channel
A file for TikTok, Reels, X or a clipping campaign	A clip maker such as FastClip	An MP4 of up to five minutes, with captions and a 9:16 crop

The first two stay inside YouTube. Only the third gives you a video you can upload somewhere else.

YouTube’s Clip button used to make a 5 to 60 second loop with a title. On April 16, 2026, YouTube announced that Share at Timestamp replaces the Clips feature. You can no longer make a new Clip; existing Clips “will still be viewable”. Share at Timestamp makes a link to the whole video that starts at the second you choose. YouTube Help gives these steps:

On a computer: under the video, click Share, check Start at, type the time (for example “2:30”), then copy the link.
On a phone or tablet: go to the moment in the video, tap Share, and turn on the toggle that shows the current time (for example “2:30”). Then copy the link or pick an app.
To set the start by hand: the app uses the current playback position. Add “?t=” and a number of seconds to the link instead, for example youtu.be/VIDEO_ID?t=150 for 2:30.
To add an end: Share at Timestamp cannot. An embed link can: youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID?start=150&end=190 starts at 2:30 and stops at 3:10. Or write “watch until 3:10” in your message.
To add a title: Share at Timestamp has no field for one. Write it in your message.

What you share is a pointer, not a video. The link opens the creator’s full video, which plays on after your moment. For what changed and what YouTube has not said, see YouTube Clips is gone.

Why the Clip button is missing

YouTube replaced it. On April 16, 2026, YouTube announced that Share at Timestamp replaces the Clips feature. On October 8, 2026, we found no Clip item under videos on youtube.com, signed in.
The help page is out of date. On October 8, 2026, YouTube Help’s “Learn about managing Clips” still listed the steps to create a Clip. Trust the announcement and the app you see.
Old Clips can still disappear. YouTube Help says a Clip is removed if the original video is deleted, set to private, or breaks the Community Guidelines.

None of this stops a clip maker, because it works from the video’s link. Permission still matters: see the last section.

Way 2: turn your own video into a Short

If the video is on your channel, YouTube Studio can make a Short or a video clip from it. Open the video in Studio and use the Clips and Shorts tool: pick the part by selecting words in the transcript or by typing start and end times. A Short gets automatic captions where available; a video clip becomes a new upload on your channel. The tool works only on videos you uploaded. This is the fastest route when you only post on YouTube and do not need a crop that follows the speaker.

For YouTube’s length and Content ID rules for Shorts, see YouTube to Shorts.

Way 3: make a clip file you can post anywhere

This is the way to clip for TikTok, Instagram Reels, X or a clipping campaign, where you need a file and usually captions.

Copy the video’s link and paste it into FastClip. It works in a phone or desktop browser; you do not download the video yourself.
FastClip opens on the part viewers replay most. Take that suggestion, or set the start and end on the timeline or by selecting words in the transcript.
Turn on the 9:16 crop if you want a vertical clip. It can follow the speaker’s face.
Finish the clip. Captions are burned in. Download the MP4, or post it to Instagram Reels or X.

A clip made this way can be up to five minutes long. To see where a video’s best moments are before you clip it, use the free Most Replayed tool.

On iPhone, Android and PC

YouTube’s Share at Timestamp is on youtube.com on a computer, and the April 2026 announcement brought it to the YouTube app on phones and tablets. On a computer you type the start time; in the app the link starts at the current moment.
FastClip runs in the browser on all three, so there is nothing to install. There is also an iPhone app in testing.
Screen recording your phone also “works”, but it records the player controls, drops quality, and gives you no captions. It is the slow way.

Clipping a video that is not yours

Two different things are called “allowed”. A Share at Timestamp link is YouTube’s own sharing feature: the viewer watches the creator’s video on YouTube. Old YouTube Clips worked the same way: they played on the creator’s own watch page.

Taking a file of someone else’s video and posting it elsewhere is different. Do it only with permission: your own content, a creator’s clipping program, or a clipping campaign that pays for clips of that show. Our guide to copyright and fair use explains what platforms do with re-uploads, and what clipping is explains how campaigns give that permission.

Questions

How long can a YouTube clip be?

YouTube’s Clip button made Clips of 5 to 60 seconds, and you can no longer make new ones. A Share at Timestamp link has no length: it starts at your moment and the video plays on. A clip file made with a clip maker can be longer (FastClip cuts up to five minutes); platforms then set their own limits.

Can I download a YouTube clip?

Not from YouTube’s own sharing: a Clip and a Share at Timestamp link are links to the creator’s video, not files. To get a file, make the clip with a clip maker and download the MP4.

Why can’t I clip a YouTube video?

YouTube no longer lets viewers make new Clips: on April 16, 2026, it announced that Share at Timestamp replaces them. Its help page still lists the old steps. See YouTube Clips is gone.

How do I clip a YouTube video on my phone?

In the YouTube app, go to the moment, tap Share and turn on the toggle with the current time to share a link that starts there. For a file with captions, open fastclips.app in the phone’s browser and paste the video’s link.

Is it legal to clip someone else’s YouTube video?

Sharing a link with YouTube’s own Share at Timestamp is within YouTube’s rules, because the viewer watches the creator’s video on YouTube. Posting a file of someone else’s video elsewhere needs permission, for example through a clipping campaign.

Can I turn part of a YouTube video into a Short?

From your own video, yes: the Clips and Shorts tool in YouTube Studio turns part of it into a Short or a video clip. From someone else’s video, YouTube’s Remix tools build a Short around a piece of it, with credit; see Remix vs re-upload.

Sources

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