YouTube expands thumbnail editing options for Shorts

YouTube is now allowing Shorts creators to customise their thumbnail frames post-upload by adding text, filters, and emojis. Creators can choose a frame for their Shorts thumbnail and enhance it with text and filters. However, the option to upload custom thumbnails is still not available. A detailed video was uploaded on the company's 'Creator Inside' channel to explain the new features.

The company believes custom thumbnails are less critical for Shorts because users typically discover Shorts within the Shorts feed, which displays full-screen videos rather than smaller thumbnails. YouTube states, “Shorts thumbnails are not as important as regular video thumbnail images, because most users come across Shorts clips within the Shorts feed.”

Despite the lack of custom thumbnails, Shorts can still be discovered through search, hashtags, audio pivot pages, and the creator’s channel. The platform acknowledges that Shorts thumbnails will only appear on search, hashtag, and audio pivot pages, as well as on the creator's channel.

The platform is exploring adding more functionality to Shorts thumbnails next year. For now, creators can only edit their Shorts thumbnails with text, filters, and emojis. The ability to upload fully custom thumbnails might be introduced in the future. YouTube is evaluating whether custom thumbnails for Shorts are necessary, which could influence future updates to the feature.