YouTube banning clickable links in Shorts
YouTube said that in order to tackle the increasing scams and spam appearing in the short video format, it will make links related to Shorts unclickable. According to it, along with an increase in volume and speed of content being published on YouTube, the "speed and level of engagement has made it easier for spammers and scammers to share links in Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions that harm the community."
The company notes the change was necessary because the spammy links could drive users to dangerous content, like malware, phishing, or other scams. The measure is fairly extreme, given YouTube already has existing systems and policies designed to detect and remove spammy links.
Instead of relying on this technology, YouTube is disabling these links altogether. The changes will roll out gradually, which means not all links will be disabled as of August 31st. In addition, the company is removing the clickable social media icons from all desktop channel banners, as those have also been used to scam users with misleading links.
It should be noted that legitimate creators have a use for links at times, particularly when it comes to monetizing their content by recommending products and brands to their followers. YouTube, to address this, says it will introduce new ways for those users to safely include links in their content.
Starting on August 23, YouTube viewers on mobile and desktop will begin to see “prominent” clickable links on creators’ channel profiles near their ‘Subscribe’ button. Creators can use this space to link out to websites, their other social profiles, merchandise sites, and other links that adhere to YouTube’s Community Guidelines.
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.