YouTube Shorts, the video platform’s answer to TikTok is doing pretty well. Though this means that it also becomes a breeding ground for spam in the form of links. And it’s a big enough problem that the platform has decided that it will soon make links in Shorts unclickable, be they links in comments, and even in the video’s own description.
This announcement comes as part of an update on the platform’s external links policy page. As mentioned, it won’t happen immediately. This change will only start getting rolled out gradually on 31 August, according to the update. In its place, YouTube says that it is “actively working on safer ways for creators to include important links in their content”. The Verge cites a press release that states that these should show up by the end of September.
One example of this is giving channels a new space dedicated for links. Though the limitation for this is immediately obvious, as this space is found on the channel page, and not for individual videos. Smaller creators on YouTube may be the first to feel the effects of the change, especially if their channels are supported by external sponsors.
Either way, this change will start rolling out on 23 August, just over a week before YouTube puts its spam reduction efforts in place. On a related note, Google also says that links in desktop channel banners will now longer show. Beyond these, YouTube says that it has no plans to make other links unclickable. At least for now, as the company also mentions that “abuse tactics evolve quickly”, and the company needs “to take preventative measures to make it harder for scammers and spammers to mislead or scam users via links”.
