How to Link to a Specific Time in a YouTube Video

To link to a specific time in a YouTube video, add t= and the start time in seconds to the video URL: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=90 opens the video at 1:30. If the link already has a ? in it, as every watch?v= link does, use &t=90 instead. To skip the math, paste the link into our free YouTube timestamp link generator, type the hours, minutes and seconds, and copy the result. It's free, needs no account and runs in your browser.

We tested everything below on November 2, 2026. The generator outputs are copied from the live tool in Chrome. For the YouTube behavior, we opened each link in Chrome and read the player's actual playback position, so every "starts at" claim here was measured rather than assumed. The test video is Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" (ID dQw4w9WgXcQ, 3:33 long).

Four ways to get a YouTube link that starts at a timestamp

1. The Share button's Start at box (computer)

Pause the video at the moment you want, click Share under the player and tick Start at. YouTube fills in the current position. In our test, pausing at 2:30 changed the share link from https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?si=07NMZxF-g3RVB86c to https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?si=07NMZxF-g3RVB86c&t=150. You can type a different time into the box before you click Copy.

2. Right-click the player (computer)

Right-click the video itself and choose Copy video URL at current time. This is the quickest method if you're already watching. With the player at 1:39, the clipboard got https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=99. That's a clean link without the si parameter, and the time is rounded down to the whole second.

3. The share toggle in the YouTube app (phone)

In the Android and iPhone app, pause the video, tap Share and switch on the time toggle (it shows the current position, like 2:30). YouTube's help page describes this toggle, and The Verge reported on April 16, 2026 that YouTube added it to the mobile app while retiring Clips. If your app version doesn't show the toggle yet, copy the plain link and use method 4.

4. Our generator (any device, any link)

The generator is the best choice when you already have a link (from a chat, a doc or a playlist) and know the time you want. It's also handy for long timestamps like 1:02:03, which are fiddly to scrub to on a phone. It handles every common link format, which the next section shows.

How to make a timestamp link with the generator

1. Copy the video link from the address bar, the Share button or a message. youtube.com/watch?v=, youtu.be/, m.youtube.com, /live/, /embed/ and youtube-nocookie.com links all work, and the https:// part is optional.
2. Paste it into the YouTube video URL field of the timestamp link generator.
3. Type the start time into Hours, Minutes and Seconds. Leave any box you don't need empty; blanks count as 0. You don't have to normalize anything yourself: 90 minutes or 75 seconds are converted correctly.
4. Copy the result. It updates as you type. Use the copy icon next to Result.
5. Test it once in a private window before you send it to a whole class or mailing list.

Try it now: create a timestamp link in a few seconds. The page builds the link locally in your browser. In our network log for 20 test links, no request contained the video URL.

Worked examples (real outputs)

These are real inputs and the exact results the generator produced on November 2, 2026:

Three details matter here. First, the tool uses ?t= or &t= correctly depending on whether the link already has parameters. Second, entering 0 is a quick way to strip a timestamp from a link someone sent you. Third, lookalike hosts are rejected: youtube.com.evil.example gave no result, just like Vimeo.

How the t parameter actually works

We opened each of these links in Chrome and read where the player started:

• &t=90 started at 90.3 seconds, and YouTube rewrote the address to &t=90s. Plain seconds and seconds with an s are the same thing.
• &t=2m5s started at 125.6 seconds, and the address became t=125s. The 1h2m3s style works if you write links by hand.
• &t=1:30 did not work. YouTube dropped the parameter from the address and played from 0:00. Colons only work in comments and descriptions, not in URLs.
• https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=67 redirects (HTTP 303) to watch?t=67&v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&feature=youtu.be and started at 68.4 seconds. Short links keep the timestamp.
• #t=30, the old fragment style, still started at 30.4 seconds. When a link had both &t=50 and #t=30, the t=50 query parameter won.
• &start=50 on a watch link was rewritten to t=50s and worked. Still, start is officially an embed parameter, so stick to t for normal links.

Playback can land a second or so after the requested time. YouTube's player documentation says it seeks to the closest keyframe, usually no more than about two seconds before the requested time, so start your link a couple of seconds before the key sentence.

Timestamps for embedded videos: start and end

An embedded player ignores t. It uses start, which YouTube's player parameters page defines as a positive integer number of seconds from the beginning. Embeds also support end, which normal links do not. Note that end is measured from the start of the video, not from your start value. To play only 1:30 to 2:00 on your page:

<iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dQw4w9WgXcQ?start=90&end=120"
  width="560" height="315" title="YouTube video" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The generator switches to start= automatically when you paste an /embed/ link, and it keeps any existing parameters (?rel=0 plus 1 minute became ?rel=0&start=60). Add end by hand if you need it.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Using a colon in the URL. t=1:30 silently plays from the start. Use t=90 or t=1m30s.
• A time past the end of the video. t=3723 on our 3:33 video started at 0:00 with no warning. Neither YouTube nor our generator can tell you the video is shorter, so check the length first.
• A second ? in the link. watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=90 is wrong. Everything after the first ? is joined with &. In our test, that link played from 0:00, and YouTube removed ?t=90 from the address. The generator always gets this right.
• Forgetting the si parameter. Links copied from the Share button carry si=, a sharing identifier. Removing it doesn't change what the link plays. If you'd rather not pass it along, delete si=...& or use the right-click copy, which leaves it out. Our generator keeps every parameter you paste, si included.
• Two timestamps in one link. If a link has #t=30 and you add a new time, the generator keeps the old fragment (our #t=30 test came back as &t=50#t=30). YouTube used the t=50, but delete the fragment to avoid confusing anyone reading the link.
• Expecting an end time. Ordinary links can't stop at a time. Since Clips are being retired, use an embed with end, or simply tell people where the part ends.

Where timestamp links help the most

• Lessons and tutorials. Send students straight to the step they need. If it's a printed handout, turn the timestamp link into a code with the QR code generator. Scanning it opens the video at the right second.
• Chats. Paste the link into WhatsApp, or build a click-to-chat link with the message prefilled using the WhatsApp link generator. Our guide on creating a WhatsApp link covers the phone-number format.
• Blog posts and newsletters. Put the thumbnail next to the link. The YouTube thumbnail downloader gets every size, and this guide explains which sizes exist.
• Your own videos. Add chapters. YouTube's chapter rules: list timestamps in the description, start the first one at 00:00, include at least three in ascending order, and make each chapter at least 10 seconds long.

To check what's inside a long link before sharing it, paste it into the URL parser, which lists each query parameter separately. If a parameter value contains spaces or symbols, see how to URL-encode a string.

Frequently asked questions

How do I link to a specific time in a YouTube video?

Add t= followed by the number of seconds to the video URL, for example https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?t=90 for 1:30. Use ? if the link has no other parameters and & if it does. On a computer, you can also tick Start at in the Share dialog or right-click the player and choose Copy video URL at current time.

Can I write the time as 1m30s instead of seconds?

Yes. In our test, t=2m5s started at 2:05, and YouTube rewrote it to t=125s. What doesn't work is a colon: t=1:30 was dropped and the video played from the beginning.

Do timestamp links work on phones and in the YouTube app?

Yes. The time is part of the link, so it applies wherever the link opens, and youtu.be short links keep the timestamp when they redirect. The YouTube app can also create these links from the Share sheet's time toggle.

Can a YouTube link stop at a certain time?

Not a normal watch or youtu.be link. Embedded players support an end parameter in seconds from the start of the video, for example ?start=90&end=120 to play from 1:30 to 2:00.

Why does my timestamp link start from the beginning?

The usual causes are a colon in the time (t=1:30), a time longer than the video, or a second question mark that turns t into part of another parameter. Rebuild the link in the generator and test it in a private window.

Is the timestamp link generator free?

Yes. It's free, needs no account and builds the link in your browser. Paste a link, type the time and copy the result.

Ready to share the exact moment? Open the free YouTube timestamp link generator, paste your link and pick the time. Then grab the thumbnail with the thumbnail downloader or make a printable code with the QR code generator.