YouTube QR code
Create a YouTube QR code
A scan opens the video, or your channel, in the YouTube app.
Paste a link from the Share button, or type a handle such as @yourchannel.
Optional, single videos only. Seconds, m:ss or h:mm:ss.
Make it yours
Your code appears here as you type.
A YouTube QR code bridges something physical and something you would rather show than explain. A product box that links to the setup video. A recipe card that plays the tricky step. A poster for a gig that opens the band's channel. Scanning opens the YouTube app on the exact video, channel or playlist, and with a start time the video begins at the moment that matters instead of the intro.
How to use it
- In YouTube, tap Share under the video, Short, playlist or channel and copy the link.
- Paste it above, or type a channel handle such as @yourchannel to link the channel.
- For a single video, add a start time like 1:30 to skip straight to that point. Shorts, channels and playlists do not support one.
- The si tracking code YouTube adds to shared links is removed, which keeps the pattern smaller.
- Download the image and scan it with a phone before you print it on anything.
Good places for a video code
Instruction leaflets and packaging, where a two-minute video saves a page of diagrams. Classroom worksheets and textbooks. Estate agent boards linking a video tour. Conference slides, so the audience can rewatch the demo. Wedding invitations that open a save-the-date film. Printed ads, where the video carries the story a headline cannot.
Unlisted and private videos
Unlisted videos work well with a QR code: anyone who scans can watch, but the video does not appear in search or on your channel. Private videos only play for the accounts you have invited, so everyone else who scans sees an error. The code is made in your browser and the link is encoded directly, so it never expires. Any QR is not affiliated with YouTube or Google.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for a link to a single video. Enter the time as seconds or as minutes and seconds, and the code adds it to the link so playback starts there.
The YouTube app, if the phone has it installed. Otherwise the video plays on the YouTube website in the phone's browser.
No. Titles and descriptions are not part of the link. The code only stops working if the video is deleted or made private.
Yes. Type your channel handle, starting with @, or paste your channel link. The code opens your channel page.