Skip to main content

YouTube Shorts will start adding watermarks to downloaded videos, just like TikTok

YouTube Shorts has been quickly picked up popularity, and now the short-form video app is picking up another idea from TikTok, watermarks on downloaded videos.

Whether you watch short-form videos on YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels, you’ve probably noticed some creators who re-upload their content from TikTok. It’s usually pretty obvious, as TikTok has long applied a watermark to any video downloaded from the app with the platform’s logo and the creator’s username.

Now, YouTube Shorts will adopt the same watermark practice.

Announced on a YouTube support page, the company confirmed that creators who download their own videos will see a YouTube Shorts watermark on the video. The change is being made to ensure that “viewers can see that the content you’re sharing across platforms can be found on YouTube Shorts” if the content is posted to another short-form platform.

If you’re a creator who downloads your Shorts from YouTube Studio to share across other platforms, you’ll now find a watermark added to your downloaded content. We’ve added a watermark to the Shorts you download so your viewers can see that the content you’re sharing across platforms can be found on YouTube Shorts. 

At this time, it’s not entirely clear what these new watermarks will look like, but it seems same to assume it will be a slightly animated version of the Shorts logo, much like TikTok’s watermark.

YouTube says that this feature is rolling out over the “next few weeks” on YouTube’s desktop website and will come to mobile apps at a later date.

More on YouTube:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

Author

Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

Find him on Twitter @NexusBen. Send tips to schoon@9to5g.com or encrypted to benschoon@protonmail.com.


Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications