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How to add a timestamp to a YouTube link

Share a YouTube video at the exact second. The four ways to write a timestamped YouTube URL and which one to use where.

Pointing someone at a single moment of a long video is the difference between "watch this" and "watch this exact thing." YouTube has built-in support for it: any video URL accepts a t= query parameter that fast-forwards the player when it loads. It works on desktop, the mobile app, and embeds. Here's every way to write the URL.

TL;DR

Append ?t=83 to a youtu.be link or &t=83 to a youtube.com/watch link. Replace 83 with whatever second you want. Or use our timestamp generator to do it in two clicks.

The four formats

1. Short share link (recommended)

https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=43

Best for messaging apps, Slack, Twitter — short and clean. Works everywhere.

2. Long URL with seconds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=43s

Same behavior as #1. The s suffix is optional — both t=43 and t=43s work.

3. Long URL with time expression

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=1m23s

Useful when you're typing the URL by hand and want to read the time at a glance. 1m23s = 83 seconds.

4. Embed URL with start parameter

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ?start=43

For embedding on your own site. Note the parameter is start=, not t= — embeds use a different name.

How to use the YouTube share button

On desktop, click the Share button under the video. A dialog opens with a "Start at" checkbox. Tick it, set the time, copy. On mobile (iOS/Android app): tap Share, then Copy link — the app reads the player's current position and includes it automatically.

Doing it without the share button

If you already have the video URL and just need to add a time, our YouTube timestamp link generator does it instantly. Paste, set hours/minutes/seconds, copy. No signup.

What about timestamps in YouTube comments?

YouTube's auto-link in comments only works under that specific video. Type 1:23 in a comment on the video and it becomes a clickable timestamp pointing at 1:23 of that video. But if you're sharing the link off-platform — in a tweet, a Slack message, an email — that auto-link doesn't apply, so you need a real URL with ?t=.

Mobile gotchas

  • The YouTube app on iOS sometimes ignores t= if the link opens in an in-app browser (e.g. Instagram's). Long-press the link and choose "Open in Safari" or "Open in YouTube" to force the parameter to stick.
  • On Android, opening the link with the YouTube app via "Open with…" works in 100% of cases.
  • YouTube Shorts ignore t= entirely — they always start at 0:00.

Doing it programmatically

If you're building something that generates timestamped links: extract the 11-character video ID from the URL, then build https://youtu.be/{ID}?t={SECONDS}. The ID is always exactly 11 characters from [A-Za-z0-9_-].

FAQ

How do I make a YouTube link start at a specific time?
Add ?t=SECONDS to the end of a youtu.be link or &t=SECONDS to a youtube.com/watch link, where SECONDS is the start time. For example, ?t=83 starts the video at 1 minute 23 seconds.
Does the YouTube timestamp link work on mobile?
Yes. iOS and Android both honour the t= parameter — clicking opens the YouTube app at the right second. If the app isn't installed, the mobile browser does the same.
What's the difference between t=83 and t=1m23s?
Both work. YouTube accepts seconds as a number (t=83) or as a time expression (t=1m23s). The number form is shorter and more reliable in URL shorteners.
How do I share a YouTube short with a timestamp?
YouTube Shorts don't support timestamp links — they always play from the start. If you need to point at a specific moment, link to the long-form version of the video instead.

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