YouTube Shorts to Remove Links, and Make the Platform Spam Free

YouTube Shorts is making a change to address the rising problems with spam links. The links appearing in the Shorts comments section, descriptions, and the live stream won’t work after August 31. This new policy intends to be a preventative step that makes it difficult for spammers to scam people using links.

YouTube promises to roll out a new, safer method for creators to direct Shorts viewers to other YouTube content. The new update will be live by the end of September.

The step is pretty harsh considering that YouTube already has algorithms meant to detect and remove fraudulent connections. However, it completely disables these links rather than relying on this technology. Since the modifications will be implemented progressively, not all links will be inoperable as of August 31.

YouTube also plans to eliminate clickable social media symbols from channel banners on desktops. It cites them as a “source of misleading links”. These links help creators diversify their material by directing viewers to other handles or sponsors to increase revenue. So, there is a drawback to these changes. YouTube plans to address new methods for user safety which include links in their content.

To comply with the platform’s Community Guidelines, YouTube intends to give creators a new area on their channel profiles to add prominent, clickable connections to websites, social media profiles, merch sites, and other links.

On August 23, this update will begin to appear on desktop and mobile devices. It may appear close to the ‘subscribe’ button. The GIF below provides a glimpse of how this should seem to mobile users.

Over the past few years, a lot of well-known creators have decried YouTube’s spam issue. To combat the problem, YouTube unveiled new policies. In June of last year, only a few weeks after popular YouTubers like Marques Brownlee, and Linus Tech Tips broadcast videos highlighting how pervasive spam had become in their channel comments. At that time, improvements included taking away the option for creators to conceal their subscriber count and opening access to a tougher moderating system that YouTube had begun testing in December 2021.

YouTube as a platform is a bread earner for many creators out in the market. This is an exceptional way to put the stakeholders in a prime spot. Making the platform less spammy and user-friendly is another step towards maintaining its supreme position in the video platform industry.