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How to Change a YouTube Shorts Thumbnail

Select a frame for a Short in the YouTube app, or upload a custom thumbnail image in YouTube Studio on a computer.
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You can change a Short’s thumbnail by selecting a frame in the YouTube app, either before or after upload. To use a separate image instead, upload it from YouTube Studio on a computer; YouTube’s custom-thumbnail guidance says your account must be verified.

Choose the right method

What you want to use Where to do it Account requirement
A frame from the Short YouTube app No special verification requirement is stated in YouTube’s frame-selection instructions.
A separate custom image file YouTube Studio on a computer YouTube says the account must be verified for custom thumbnail uploads.

YouTube assigns these to different interfaces: use the app to select a frame from the video, and Studio on a computer to upload an image file. The app also allows text and filters to be applied to a selected frame.

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Change the thumbnail to a frame from your Short

For a new Short

  1. Sign in to the YouTube app and create or select your Short.
  2. Proceed to the final upload screen.
  3. Tap Edit on the thumbnail image.
  4. Move through the video and select the frame you want. Add text or apply filters if you wish.
  5. Tap Done, then finish uploading the Short.

For a Short that is already uploaded

  1. In the YouTube app, open your channel page and tap Your videos.
  2. Open the Short’s More menu and choose Edit.
  3. Tap Edit on the thumbnail image.
  4. Select a frame, optionally add text or filters, and tap Done.

YouTube’s documented steps are for the mobile app. Labels and their locations may differ as the app changes or across devices. YouTube’s Android guidance documents frame selection before and after upload: Create YouTube Shorts.

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Upload a separate custom thumbnail image

To use artwork that is not a frame from the Short, use YouTube Studio on a computer:

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  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. Select Content, then Shorts.
  3. Open the Short’s edit or details page.
  4. Under Thumbnail, upload your image.
  5. Save your changes.

YouTube recommends a 9:16 aspect ratio for a Shorts thumbnail image and says custom thumbnail uploads require a verified account. A changed thumbnail may take time to appear; YouTube does not specify an exact processing time. See Add Custom Thumbnails on YouTube for its computer instructions.

What viewers may see

TeamYouTube’s October 2023 creator guidance says the selected thumbnail can be the first thing viewers see when discovering a Short in search or on a channel page. That makes the frame worth choosing carefully, but it is not a promise that changing it will increase views. YouTube provides no quantified view impact in that guidance. Read TeamYouTube’s Shorts thumbnail guidance.

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