Creators have got away with it for a while, but soon Shorts videos will be branded with a YouTube watermark. Want to know why?

These days, short-form video is king. Whether you’re trying to promote a business, or climb to influencer-level fame, the way to get there is through short, snappy content. As a content creator, you have a few platforms to choose from, each with their own suite of editing tools, as well as pros and cons.

The newest kid on the block is YouTube Shorts. Competing against the likes of TikTok and Instagram Reels, Shorts has exploded onto the scene. As is often the way with new features, the platform has pushed Shorts heavily, seeing it take responsibility for expediting the growth of some channels at an impressive rate.

Creators have been enjoying the ability to create short videos on YouTube, and sharing them across platforms. This is an extremely common thing to do, as it allows multiple audiences to be utilised, resulting in optimum exposure. Sadly, though, this is soon to come to an end.

Enter, YouTube Watermark

It was revealed last week, on a YouTube support thread commented on by a community manger, that Shorts content would soon feature the YouTube watermark. We can expect to see this change over the coming weeks on desktop. It will be rolled out to mobile in the next few months.

According to the announcement, this is so that people who come across video content elsewhere know that it can be found on YouTube. Essentially, YouTube Shorts wants to be credited for the creation of certain videos.

This is nothing new. TikTok has been operating this way for a long time, branding any content downloaded from its site or app. Creators resharing content can’t even just crop it out, as the logo bounces defiantly around the screen.

Logo Pains

This may not sound like such a big deal, but watermarks on videos can cause problems for creators. Not too long ago, Adam Mosseri revealed that Instagram would be favouring original content over anything else. In other words: do not repost watermarked TikTok on your Reels, lest you wish to screw up your rankings.

Platforms have inscrutable yet infamously picky algorithms which will penalise accounts that try to reshare videos native to another site. It seems harsh, but it’s all in the name of promoting their video sharing tools and features.

Creators tend to work around this by editing videos externally, on programmes like Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve. Although this can be time-consuming, it means you can share content freely across platforms. It’s also an incredibly useful skill to have as a content creator.

Currently, you can still download draft Reels without them having an Instagram watermark slapped on them. Whilst the Reels editing tools might not be the best out there, this could be a good option if you’re keen to keep the editing fast and easy.