Credit: Ryan Haines / Android Authority
- At the end of August 2023, Google will disable all links in YouTube Shorts to cut down on spam.
- The links will still appear in videos, comments, and descriptions, but you won’t be able to click them.
- Google will have new ways for creators to link to content rolled out by the end of September 2023.
If you’ve ever watched a popular YouTube Short, you probably saw lots of links. Obviously, there are probably some in the description from the creator, but there are also some in the vertical live feed and, most egregiously, in the comments. It’s very easy to tap one of these links and be taken…somewhere.
The problem with this, of course, is that it’s incredibly easy for scammers and spammers to take advantage of this linking free-for-all. In response, Google announced today that it will fight YouTube Shorts spam by essentially going nuclear: it will gradually remove almost all active links from the platform (via The Verge).