YouTube Introduces Enhanced Thumbnail Editing Features

YouTube has unveiled new thumbnail editing features for iOS and Android devices. It enhances how you can present your Shorts content. Thumbnails can now include text, emojis, and filters to increase user engagement.

The new features can be used as follows:

1. In your Short, tap the pencil icon in the upper left corner.
2. Navigate the video to select the frame you want.
3. Click on the relevant icon to apply filters, emoticons, or text.
4. To save your edits, tap the checkbox in the upper right corner.

Where Your Customized Thumbnails Will Appear

While these edited thumbnails won’t show up in the main Shorts feed, they will be visible in several vital areas:

• Search results
• Hashtag pages
• Audio pivot pages
• Creator channels
• Home and subscription feeds

Compared with Other Platforms

• YouTube Shorts

  • New options for adding text, emojis, and filters to thumbnails
  • Ability to select and edit thumbnails after uploading
  • Custom thumbnails appear in search, hashtag, and channel pages but not in the main Shorts feed

• Instagram Reels

  • Custom thumbnail selection from the video
  • Option to overlay text on thumbnails
  • Thumbnails are visible in the feed, profile grid, and Reels tab

• TikTok

  • Automatically generated thumbnails
  • Limited customization options, mainly for ads
  • Primarily uses the video’s first frame as the thumbnail

Looking Ahead

This update addresses feedback from the creator community, and YouTube has hinted at future enhancements for Shorts thumbnails.