Free
For anyone who wants their YouTube links to open the app.
$0forever
No card needed
Included:
- Unlimited short links
- Open-in-app links
- QR codes
- Total taps and the last 7 days
New: see which app every tap came fromSee analytics
Free YouTube link shortener that opens the YouTube app
Paste a channel, video, Shorts or playlist link. A tap from an Instagram, TikTok or Facebook bio asks the phone to open the YouTube app, not a page in the in-app browser.
- Tap in InstagramA follower taps your link in a bio, story or DM.
- The phone opens the YouTube appThe link asks for the app instead of loading YouTube in the in-app browser.
- Lands on the right screenYour channel or video. If the app doesn’t take over, a button and a browser fallback are there.
Illustration with an invented channel. What the app shows next, such as a subscribe prompt, is up to YouTube.
Taps right now
Demo dataTaps today1,284
Opened in app83%
Illustrative sample of taps arriving, with city, source app and whether the YouTube app opened. Not real usage.
Channels and @handles
Asks the app to open your channel, from an @handle or a channel URL.
Videos
Watch and youtu.be links point at the video itself.
Shorts
Shorts links point at the Short, not at your channel page.
Playlists
Playlist links keep the playlist, in its order.
Ytgo links
Why YouTube links open in a browser instead of the app
Instagram, TikTok and Facebook usually open links inside their own browser. For YouTube that means a web page where the viewer is often signed out: Subscribe asks for a login, and nothing goes to their watch history.
A plain YouTube link In-app browser
youtube.com/@mirakitchen?sub_confirmation=1
- Usually opens inside the app’s own browser
- The viewer is often signed out there, so Subscribe asks for a login
- Long, and easy to break when pasted into a bio
The same link through Ytgo YouTube app
ytgo.me/mirakitchen
- Asks the phone to open the YouTube app, on iPhone and Android
- If the app doesn’t take over: an Open in YouTube button and a browser fallback
- Short enough to say out loud in a video
From a pasted link to your first clicks
- 1
Paste a YouTube link
A channel, video, Short, playlist or live stream. You get a short link straight away.
No account needed - 2
Share it in your bio
Or in a story, comment or DM. A tap asks the phone to open the YouTube app. If it can’t, the viewer continues on youtube.com.
Open-in-app link - 3
See your clicks
Create a free account to keep the link and see its clicks. Upgrade for app opens vs browser, source apps and countries.
Free, or Pro at $1 a month
Ytgo dashboard
What your link looks like after a week
Put the short link in your bio and leave it there. A week later your dashboard answers two questions: how many people tapped it, and how often the YouTube app took over.
- FreeTaps. The total for every link you keep in your account, plus the last 7 days.
- ProOpened in app. How often the YouTube app took over, split by source app and country.
Ytgo analytics
See how many taps actually reached the app
Other link shorteners count clicks. Ytgo also shows how often the YouTube app took over, how often the viewer stayed in a browser, and which app each tap came from.
Taps, 28 days12,480
Opened in app10,23382%
Browser fallback2,24718%
Source app Opened in app
- Instagram 6,91288%
- TikTok 3,11879%
- Facebook 1,40471%
- WhatsApp 51274%
- Direct and other 53461%
Example figures for ytgo.me/mirakitchen. Clicks are recorded from day one on the free plan, so the history is there when you upgrade.
- App opens vs browser fallbacksFor every link, so you know your bio link is doing its job.
- Where taps came fromInstagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, WhatsApp and direct taps, plus country and device.
- 12 months of historyWith CSV export on Pro.
Shortening is free. Analytics is $1 a month.
Both plans make the same open-in-app links. Pro is for creators and managers who want to know where their taps come from.
Pro
For creators and the people who run their accounts.
$0.58/ month
Billed yearly, $6.99 plus tax
$1/ month
Billed monthly, plus tax
Everything in Free, plus:
- App opens vs browser, by source app
- 12 months of history and CSV export
- Custom short names, like ytgo.me/you
- Change a link’s destination later
- Link-in-bio page
Questions creators ask
What is Ytgo?
Ytgo is a free link shortener for YouTube links only. When someone taps a Ytgo link inside Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, it asks the phone to open the YouTube app on the same channel, video, Short or playlist instead of a web page. It is made for creators and the people who run their accounts. Shortening is free; Pro, $1 a month or $6.99 a year plus tax, adds analytics, custom short names and a bio page.
Is Ytgo the same as YouTube Go?
No. Ytgo (ytgo.me) is an independent YouTube link shortener: it makes short links that ask the phone to open the YouTube app when tapped in Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. YouTube Go was a separate, lightweight Android app made by Google, which Google discontinued in 2022. Ytgo is not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by YouTube or Google.
Why does my YouTube link open in the browser instead of the app?
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and many other apps open links in their own built-in browser so you stay inside them. A youtube.com link loads there as a web page, where the viewer is usually signed out, so Subscribe asks them to log in and nothing goes to their watch history.
How do I make a link that opens the YouTube app directly?
Paste your YouTube link above and share the short link instead, for example in the Website field of your Instagram profile or in your TikTok bio. When someone taps it, the short link asks the phone to open the YouTube app on the same channel, video, Short or playlist. If the phone doesn’t hand over, the page shows an Open in YouTube button and a way to continue in the browser.
Does it work on iPhone and Android?
The link handles both. iPhone and Android pass links to apps in different ways, so the short link checks which system and which app the tap came from and uses the matching method. The final say belongs to the phone and the app the viewer is in. When the hand-over doesn’t happen, the button and browser fallback are there.
What happens if the viewer doesn’t have the YouTube app?
They continue on youtube.com in the browser, on the same channel, video, Short or playlist. The same happens when someone taps the link on a computer. Nobody hits a dead end.
Can I use a short link for a channel, Shorts, playlist or live stream?
Yes. Ytgo accepts channel URLs and @handles, watch and youtu.be links, Shorts, playlists and live streams, and points each one at the matching screen in the app.
How do I get my YouTube subscribe link?
Add ?sub_confirmation=1 to the end of your channel URL and shorten that. Ytgo keeps that part on the link, so it reaches YouTube unchanged. Whether the “Subscribe?” confirmation then appears is decided by the YouTube app or site, not by Ytgo, and it can differ between the app and the browser.
Do I need an account?
No. Paste a link and copy the short link, no sign-up. A free account keeps your links in a dashboard and shows the total clicks for each. Pro, $1 a month, adds app opens vs browser by source app and country, custom short names and a link-in-bio page.
Is Ytgo free?
Yes. Shortening is free and unlimited, with or without an account, and links do not expire. A free account adds a dashboard with total clicks and the last 7 days for each link. Only Pro costs money: $1 a month or $6.99 a year, plus tax, for app-open analytics, custom short names, changing a link’s destination and a bio page.
Do short links expire?
No. A link you make today keeps working, with or without an account.
Can I shorten links that aren’t on YouTube?
No. Ytgo only accepts youtube.com and youtu.be links, by design. Because every Ytgo link can only lead to YouTube, people know where a tap will take them, and the links can’t be used to hide spam or phishing pages.
Is Ytgo safe to use?
Ytgo only accepts YouTube destinations, so its links cannot lead to spam or phishing pages, and anyone can report a misused link on the Report a link page. It does not store the IP address of people who tap a link and uses no advertising trackers. Payments go through Stripe, so card details never reach Ytgo.
Can using a short link harm my YouTube channel?
No. Ytgo never asks for access to your YouTube account, even if you sign in with Google, and changes nothing on your channel. The link only takes viewers to your channel or video, where they arrive as they would from any other link. Deleting or changing a short link does not affect your channel either.
Is Ytgo affiliated with YouTube?
No. Ytgo is an independent service. It is run by Bidi Media LLC, a company in New York, and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by YouTube or Google. It only makes short links that point to YouTube.
Your bio link should open the app
Paste a channel or video link and have a short link in a few seconds. Free, no card.