This wikiHow teaches you how to change the preview photo used for a YouTube video you uploaded. Keep in mind that you must have verified your YouTube account at some point in order to set a custom thumbnail; otherwise, you'll only be able to choose one of three preset thumbnails. While you can't change your YouTube video's thumbnail from within the YouTube mobile app, you can use the free YouTube Studio app on iPhone and Android platforms to change your videos' thumbnails on mobile.
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 2:
On Desktop
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Open YouTube. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in your computer's web browser. Doing so will open your customized YouTube home page if you're signed into your account.
- If you aren't signed into your account, click SIGN IN in the top-right corner of the page, then enter the email address and password of the YouTube account you want to use.
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Click your profile icon. It's the circle with a photo (or initial) in the upper-right corner of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.Advertisement
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Click YouTube Studio (beta) . It's in the drop-down menu. Doing so opens the YouTube Studio page.
- At some point in YouTube's development, this option will most likely be renamed to YouTube Studio without the "(beta)" tag.
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Click Videos . You'll find this tab on the left side of the page.
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Select your video. Click the title or thumbnail of the video for which you want to change the thumbnail. This will open the video's editing page.
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Click the THUMBNAILS tab. This is at the top of the page.
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Click SELECT IMAGE FILE . It's near the lower-right corner of the page. Doing so opens a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window.
- If your YouTube account isn't verified, you can select a predetermined thumbnail from the "Auto-generated thumbnails" section near the top of the page. You can then skip the next two steps.
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Select a thumbnail. Go to the location of the picture you want to use, then click once the picture to select it.
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Click Open . It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. Your photo will be uploaded and selected.
- On a Mac, you may click Choose here instead.
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Click SAVE . It's in the top-right corner of the page. This will save your changes and apply the thumbnail to your YouTube video.Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:
On Mobile
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Download the YouTube Studio app. YouTube Studio is a free mobile app which will, among other things, allow you to edit a video's thumbnail. Skip this step if you already have YouTube Studio installed; otherwise, do the following to install it:
- iPhone — Open your iPhone's App Store , tap Search , tap the search bar, type in youtube studio , tap Search , tap GET to the right of the YouTube Studio app, and enter your Touch ID or Apple ID password when prompted.
- Android — Open your Android's Play Store , tap the search bar, type in youtube studio , tap YouTube Studio in the drop-down list of results, and tap INSTALL in the upper-right corner of the page.
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Open YouTube Studio. Tap OPEN in the App Store or Google Play Store, or tap the red-and-white YouTube Studio app on one of your smartphone's home screen pages (or the App Drawer on an Android).
- The app should look like a red gear with a white triangle or "play" button in the middle.
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Tap GET STARTED . It's at the bottom of the screen.
- If you've used YouTube Studio in the past, skip this step and the next step.
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Sign into your YouTube account. If prompted, tap SIGN IN in the middle of the screen, then select the account you want to use.
- If you don't see the account you want to use, tap Add account and then enter the account's email address and password before proceeding.
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Tap ☰ . It's in the top-left corner of the screen. A pop-out menu will appear.
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Tap Videos . You'll find this in the pop-out menu. Doing so opens a list of your uploaded videos.
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Select a video. Tap the video for which you want to change the thumbnail.
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Tap the "Edit"icon. It's a pencil-shaped icon at the top of the screen.
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Tap Edit thumbnail . You'll see this link on top of the current thumbnail near the top of the screen.
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Tap Custom Thumbnail . It's on top of the current thumbnail that's in the lower-left side of the screen.
- If prompted to allow YouTube Studio to access your Photos app, tap OK or ALLOW when prompted before proceeding.
- If you haven't yet verified your YouTube account, you won't see this option. If so, tap one of the pre-selected thumbnails at the bottom of the screen to change your video's thumbnail, then skip the next step.
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Select a photo. Find the photo you want to use as your video's thumbnail, then tap once the photo to upload it.
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Tap SELECT . It's in the top-right corner of the screen. This will add the selected thumbnail to your video's Edit page.
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Tap SAVE . This is in the top-right corner of the screen. Doing so saves your changes and applies the thumbnail to your video.Advertisement
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Tips
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Thanks
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Warnings
- It may take your new thumbnail up to 24 hours to display for some viewers.Thanks
- Avoid including disturbing or graphic content in your thumbnail—including such content violates YouTube's terms of use.Thanks
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