YouTube Expands Access to ‘Clips’ Video Highlights Option

YouTube has announced that all creators will soon be able to access its ‘Clips’ option, which enables users to select and share a small portion of a video clip (up to 60 seconds in length), which will then play on a loop directly on the original video’s watch page.

YouTube first announced its initial test of Clips last January – here’s a preview of how Clips works:

So it’s kind of like a GIF, but not really – but it does provide another way to share a small segment of a longer clip across various apps.

YouTube says that more channels have been given access to Clips over the past few weeks, and by next week, all channels will have the option available.

If a channel does have Clips access, you’ll see this button below the video playback screen.

It could be a helpful way to generate more interest in your YouTube videos, by sharing small highlight snippets to get people interested. And with interest in short video on the rise, it could also provide a way to upload segments of your YouTube clips for use in TikTok and IG Reels and Stories as well, if you wanted to use them as a means to drive more viewers to your page.

On another front, YouTube is also expanding post image polls to Android (previously only available on iOS), while it’s also expanding its Locations listings, which highlight Google Maps information relating to cafes and restaurants mentioned in a video clip. YouTube says that these listings will soon be included on more videos, and will include more information types to highlight contextual info relating to clips. Creators can opt out of this expansion if they choose.

You can learn more about YouTube’s latest updates here.