YouTube Shorts Gets Custom Thumbnail Feature

News Desk

San Francisco: YouTube has expanded its creator tools by introducing a long-awaited thumbnail customization feature for Shorts videos, allowing eligible creators to choose how their short-form content appears to viewers.

Previously available only for long-duration videos, the thumbnail option is now being extended to Shorts, giving creators more control over branding and presentation. The company said the feature is designed to help creators make their videos more noticeable and improve audience engagement.

Initially, the feature will be available to creators enrolled in the YouTube Partner Program, enabling them to upload custom thumbnail images for their Shorts. This means eligible creators can select a specific image that best represents their content instead of relying only on automatically generated frames.

Creators using YouTube Studio on computers and laptops will also have the ability to update thumbnails for already published Shorts. Desktop users will be offered three suggested frames from their videos, allowing them to select the most suitable option.

For creators using the YouTube mobile app, the existing option to choose a frame from the video as a thumbnail will continue to be available.

YouTube said its recommended thumbnail selections will be generated based on the video’s topic, style and content, helping creators present their work more effectively to potential viewers.

The company added that the feature will gradually be expanded to more users in the coming months, giving a wider range of Shorts creators access to improved customization tools.