YouTube link shortener
Paste any youtube.com or youtu.be link and get a short link straight away. It is free, needs no account and never expires. Tapped inside Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, it asks the phone to open the YouTube app.
How to shorten a YouTube link
Copy the YouTube link
In the YouTube app, tap Share, then Copy link. On a computer, copy the address from the browser bar. Channel, video, Shorts, playlist and live links all work.
Paste it into the box above
Choose Shorten. Ytgo checks that the link leads to YouTube and works out whether it points at a channel, a video, a Short, a playlist or a live stream.
Copy the short link
You get a link such as ytgo.me/abc1234 with a copy button and a free QR code.
Share it
Put it in your Instagram or TikTok bio, a story, a caption, a DM or a video description. Create a free account if you want to keep the link and count its clicks.
Why a Ytgo link opens the YouTube app
Instagram, TikTok and Facebook open links in their own built-in browser, so people stay inside the app. A plain youtube.com link therefore loads as a web page where most viewers are signed out: Subscribe asks them to log in, and nothing goes to their watch history.
A Ytgo short link checks whether the tap came from an iPhone or an Android phone, and from which app, then asks the phone to hand the link to the YouTube app on the same channel, video or Short. The phone and the app the viewer is in have the final say. When the hand-over does not happen, the page shows an Open in YouTube button and a way to continue in the browser.
On a computer, or in a normal mobile browser, the link goes straight to youtube.com.
What to look for in a YouTube link shortener
General shorteners such as Bitly or TinyURL shorten any web address and redirect to it. For a YouTube link that means youtube.com, so inside Instagram the video usually still loads in the in-app browser, unless the service sells app links as an extra. YouTube-only services, such as Ytgo or ytbe.app, are built to ask for the YouTube app.
Before you pick one, check four things: whether links work without an account, whether they expire, which link types are accepted (channels, Shorts, playlists, live streams, subscribe links), and what the statistics show. With Ytgo, shortening is free and unlimited, links do not expire, and Pro, at $1 a month or $6.99 a year, shows how many taps reached the app.
Ytgo accepts YouTube links only, by design, so a Ytgo link can never lead to a spam or phishing page.
Questions and answers
How do I shorten a YouTube link?
Copy the link from YouTube (Share, then Copy link), paste it into the box on this page and choose Shorten. You get a short link such as ytgo.me/abc1234 with a copy button and a QR code. No account is needed, and the link does not expire.
Is the YouTube link shortener free?
Yes. Shortening is free and unlimited, with or without an account. A free account adds a dashboard with total clicks and the last 7 days for each link. Pro, $1 a month or $6.99 a year, adds app-open statistics, custom short names, editable destinations and a bio page.
Which YouTube links can I shorten?
Channel URLs and @handles, watch and youtu.be video links, Shorts, playlists and live streams. Each short link points at the same screen in the YouTube app. Links to other websites are not accepted.
Will the short link always open the YouTube app?
It asks the phone to open the app; it cannot force it. iPhone, Android and the app the viewer is in decide. When the app does not open, the viewer sees an Open in YouTube button and can continue in the browser, so the link never dead-ends.
Do YouTube short links expire?
No. A Ytgo link you create today keeps working, whether or not you sign up. With Pro you can also change where an existing link points without changing the short link itself.
Why not just use youtu.be?
youtu.be is YouTube’s own short form, made for videos. It does not cover channels, and inside Instagram or TikTok it usually still loads in the in-app browser. A Ytgo link works for every YouTube link type and asks for the app.
Guides on this topic
Step-by-step guides from our blog that go further.
- YouTube link with timestamp: how to start a video at any secondThe Start at option on desktop, the time toggle in the phone app, the t= formats that work, and why a start time sometimes gets lost. · 9 min read
- How to copy a YouTube link on iPhone, Android and desktopStep-by-step: copy links to videos, Shorts, channels, playlists and live streams, plus what youtu.be and ?si= mean. · 8 min read
- YouTube QR code: how to make one for a video, channel or playlistYouTube’s own channel QR code, a QR for any video or playlist, why a short-link QR is smaller and can be repointed later, and how big to print it. · 8 min read
- How to make a playlist on YouTube and share it (phone and computer)Create a playlist from any video or Short, pick the right visibility, invite collaborators and share the full list, not just one video. · 10 min read
- How to Get More YouTube Views From Instagram, TikTok and Other Social AppsA launch plan for one video: a teaser per app, a tappable link where each app allows it, a link to the exact moment, and YouTube’s own tools to keep the viewer watching. No bought views. · 10 min read
- How to add clickable links to a YouTube video descriptionThe Studio steps on desktop and phone, the advanced-features rule, why links in Shorts descriptions don't work, and which links belong in the first lines. · 8 min read