Share YouTube Videos from a Specific Start Time (Easy Guide)

Have you ever tried to share a YouTube video with a friend, but the part you wanted them to see was buried deep within a long recording? You send the link and add a message like, “Skip to the 4-minute, 32-second mark, that’s the best part!” More often than not, your friend might not bother scrubbing through the timeline to find that exact moment. In our fast-paced digital world, getting straight to the point is more important than ever.

Fortunately, YouTube provides a simple way to create links that start a video at the exact moment you choose. This feature, known as timestamping, is a powerful tool for creators, marketers, educators, and anyone who wants to share content more effectively. By sending a link that jumps directly to the relevant section, you ensure your audience sees precisely what you intended, improving engagement and communication.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about sharing YouTube videos from a specific start time. We will cover the built-in sharing features on desktop, the manual methods for mobile devices, and even third-party tools that make the process effortless.

Why Share a YouTube Video with a Timestamp?

Before we dive into the “how,” let’s explore the “why.” Linking to a specific time isn’t just a minor convenience; it’s a strategic way to enhance the viewer experience and achieve your communication goals. Attention spans are shorter than ever, and asking someone to watch an entire 30-minute video for a 15-second clip is a big ask.

Here are a few key reasons why timestamped links are so valuable:

• Improves Viewer Experience: The most obvious benefit is respect for your audience’s time. By directing them to the exact content they need, you remove friction and make it more likely they will watch what you’ve sent. This is especially useful for long videos like podcasts, tutorials, webinars, or public speeches.
• Increases Engagement: When viewers are taken directly to the most interesting, funny, or informative part of a video, they are more likely to engage with it by liking, commenting, or sharing it themselves.
• Effective for Citing Sources: In academic, professional, or journalistic contexts, a timestamped link acts like a digital citation. If you’re referencing a specific claim made in a video, linking to the exact moment adds credibility and allows others to verify your source quickly.
• Great for Tutorials and How-To Guides: If you’re helping someone solve a problem, you can link them directly to the step in a tutorial video that addresses their specific issue. This is far more helpful than telling them to watch the whole guide.
• Enhances Social Media Sharing: On platforms like Twitter, Reddit, or Facebook, where content is consumed rapidly, a timestamped link can be the difference between a user scrolling past or clicking to watch.

Method 1: The Built-In “Share” Feature on Desktop

The easiest and most common way to create a timestamped link is by using YouTube’s built-in sharing tool on a desktop or laptop computer. It’s a simple, two-click process.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Open the YouTube Video: Navigate to the YouTube video you wish to share in your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).
2. Find Your Desired Start Time: Play or scrub through the video to the exact moment you want the link to start. Pause the video at that point. The more precise you are, the better.
3. Click the “Share” Button: Directly below the video player, you’ll see a row of buttons including “Like,” “Dislike,” and “Share.” Click on the Share button.
4. Check the “Start at” Box: A pop-up window will appear with the video link and various social media sharing options. At the bottom of this window, you will see a small checkbox next to the words “Start at” followed by a time.
5. Confirm the Timestamp: YouTube automatically populates this field with the time at which you paused the video. If it’s correct, simply leave it. If you need to adjust it, you can manually type in a new time (e.g., 1:25 for 1 minute and 25 seconds).
6. Copy the Link: Once the “Start at” box is checked, you will notice that the URL in the box has been updated with a time parameter. Click the “Copy” button to the right of the link.

That’s it! The timestamped URL is now copied to your clipboard. You can paste it into an email, a messaging app, a social media post, or anywhere else you want to share it. When someone clicks on your link, the video will automatically begin playing from the exact second you specified.

Pro-Tip: You can also right-click directly on the video player at your desired moment and select “Copy video URL at current time” from the context menu. This copies the timestamped link to your clipboard in a single click, skipping the Share menu altogether.

Method 2: Manually Creating a Timestamp Link (for Mobile and Desktop)

What if you’re on the YouTube mobile app? Unfortunately, the app does not currently have the convenient “Start at” checkbox that the desktop site does. However, you can still create a timestamped link with a little bit of manual editing. This method also works on desktop and gives you a better understanding of how timestamping URLs are structured.

A YouTube URL can be modified by adding a small piece of code, called a parameter, to the end of it. The parameter for time is &t=.

There are two ways to format the time: in total seconds, or in hours, minutes, and seconds.

Formatting with Seconds (e.g., &t=95s)

This is the simplest way to add a timestamp. You just need to convert your desired start time into total seconds.

• To start at 30 seconds: 30s
• To start at 1 minute and 15 seconds (60 + 15): 75s
• To start at 2 minutes (2 * 60): 120s

Here’s the step-by-step process:

1. Get the Video URL: On your mobile device, open the YouTube app and find your video. Tap the “Share” button below the video, then select “Copy link.” This will copy the standard video URL to your clipboard.
2. Paste the Link: Paste the link into a notes app, text message, or wherever you can edit it. It will look something like this: https://youtu.be/AbCdEfGhIjK
3. Add the Timestamp Parameter: At the very end of the URL, type ?t= followed by the number of seconds and the letter s. For a start time of 1 minute and 35 seconds (95 seconds), you would add ?t=95s.
   Your final link would look like this: https://youtu.be/AbCdEfGhIjK?t=95s
4. Share the New Link: Copy your newly edited link and share it. It will now start at the correct time on any device.

Note: Use a question mark ? if it’s the first parameter being added to a short youtu.be link. If the link is a longer browser link that already contains a ? (like youtube.com/watch?v=AbCdEfGhIjK), you should use an ampersand & instead. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbCdEfGhIjK&t=95s.

Formatting with Hours, Minutes, and Seconds (e.g., &t=1h15m30s)

For longer videos, converting everything to seconds can be a pain. Luckily, you can also format the time with letters representing hours (h), minutes (m), and seconds (s).

• To start at 2 minutes and 10 seconds: 2m10s
• To start at 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 20 seconds: 1h5m20s

The process is the same. Just add the parameter to the end of the URL.

For example, to start a video at 12 minutes and 45 seconds, you would add ?t=12m45s to the end of the link:

https://youtu.be/AbCdEfGhIjK?t=12m45s

This manual method is incredibly versatile and allows you to create timestamped links on the go, directly from your phone.

Method 3: Using Third-Party Link Generators

If you don’t want to bother with manually editing URLs, several online tools can do the work for you. These “YouTube Timestamp Link Generators” provide a simple interface where you paste a standard YouTube link, enter your desired start time, and it generates the correct timestamped URL for you.

These tools are especially useful if you need to create timestamped links frequently or want to set both a start and end time for embedding videos.

Here’s the general workflow for using a link generator:

1. Copy the URL of the YouTube video you want to share.
2. Go to a link generator website (a quick search for “YouTube timestamp generator” will yield many options).
3. Paste the YouTube URL into the designated input box.
4. Enter the start time in the provided fields, usually separated into minutes and seconds.
5. Click the “Generate Link” button.
6. The tool will produce a new, timestamped URL for you to copy and share.

While convenient, using a third-party tool is not strictly necessary, as the manual method is quick once you get the hang of it. However, they can be a handy resource to have bookmarked.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can I set both a start and an end time for a YouTube link?
A: This is a common and excellent question. Unfortunately, you cannot create a standard YouTube link that will automatically stop playing at a specific time. The timestamp feature only controls the start point. However, you can achieve this effect when you embed a video on a website. By modifying the embed code, you can add both start and end parameters (in seconds) to play only a specific clip. For example, the src attribute in your embed code would look like: https://www.youtube.com/embed/AbCdEfGhIjK?start=60&end=90. This would play the video from the 60-second mark to the 90-second mark and then stop.

Q: How do I share a private or unlisted YouTube video with a timestamp?
A: The process is exactly the same! A timestamp is just a parameter added to a URL, and it works for any YouTube video, regardless of its privacy setting. As long as the person you are sending the link to has permission to view the private or unlisted video, the timestamped link will work perfectly. They will be taken to the correct starting point just as they would with a public video.

Q: Does adding a timestamp affect the original video or my watch history?
A: No, not at all. Creating a timestamped link does not alter the original video in any way. It’s simply a modified URL that tells YouTube where to begin playback for anyone who clicks that specific link. Your own watch history will reflect where you started and stopped the video, but the link itself has no permanent effect on the video or your account.

Q: Will a timestamped link bypass pre-roll ads on YouTube?
A: No, timestamped links do not bypass advertisements. If the video has a pre-roll ad (an ad that plays before the content), the viewer will still have to watch it before the video begins at your specified timestamp.

Q: What is the difference between YouTube Clips and timestamped links?
A: YouTube Clips is a newer feature that allows you to share a short segment (5 to 60 seconds) of a video. When you share a Clip, it creates a new, looping video of just that segment, with a link back to the full video. A timestamped link, on the other hand, simply starts the original, full video at a certain point. Clips are great for sharing very short, viral moments, while timestamps are better for directing someone to a starting point within a longer discussion or tutorial.

By mastering the simple art of timestamping, you can share YouTube content with greater precision and impact. Whether you’re using the built-in desktop tools or manually editing a link on your phone, it’s a skill that will make your sharing habits much more effective.