How to Share Links in YouTube Comments and Shorts
YouTube lets you share links in some places and silently disables them in others. Here is where URLs actually work — and how a 5-character code covers the rest.
Where YouTube links are clickable
YouTube’s own help docs are clear: not every URL is tappable. Use this as a map before you paste an http string into a comment.
| Place | Clickable URL? |
|---|---|
| Channel profile links | Yes |
| Long-form video description & comments | Often yes — if the channel allows it and filters do not hold the comment |
| Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions | No. URLs are non-clickable. |
| Live chat on mobile vertical | Often no |
Creators also routinely hold comments that contain links for review. Even on a long-form video, your URL comment may never appear.
Why Shorts comments strip links
YouTube turned Shorts comment and description URLs non-clickable to reduce spam and scam taps. That includes pinned comments. Obfuscating a URL (“dot com”, extra spaces) is still treated as a link and is a bad idea.
If you need a durable destination, put it in channel profile links. If you need to point at something specific under this Short — a doc, a repo, a form, a second page — a profile link is too broad. That is the gap a short code fills.
Share a 5-character code instead of a URL
PasteHub turns the destination into a code like cws33. It is not a URL, so Shorts has nothing to “unlink,” and long-form moderation is less likely to treat it as a link dump. Viewers open PasteHub, paste the code, and see the original URL or text. Codes never auto-redirect.
- Go to PasteHub.
- Paste the URL (or the text you want them to copy) and create a share.
- Copy the code or the comment-ready blurb.
- Post it under the video or Short: “Paste
cws33on PasteHub for the link.”
Say the code out loud on camera if you want. Five characters work in voiceover, on-screen text, and comments. A full URL does not.
Stay inside YouTube’s rules
A code is a convenience, not a loophole for scams. Do not use PasteHub to hide phishing, malware, or spam. YouTube can still remove misleading comments, and PasteHub removes reported abuse. Viewers always see the destination before they open it — that is intentional.
Also useful: sharing a link in Instagram comments and the pastebin alternative if you are handing someone a log or snippet instead of a URL.
Questions people ask
YouTube makes URLs in Shorts comments and Shorts descriptions non-clickable to cut spam. A pasted http link will not open from a Short the way it can on a long-form video.
Sometimes. Long-form comments can include clickable URLs, but many creators hold comments that contain links for review, and spam filters still hide a lot of them.
Don’t rely on a clickable URL. Create a PasteHub code and tell viewers to open PasteHub and paste the 5-character code. Use your channel profile links for a permanent destination.
A code is ordinary letters and numbers, not a URL. It is much less likely to be treated as a link comment. Still follow YouTube’s spam and external-link policies.
No. Codes never auto-redirect. Viewers always see the original URL or text on PasteHub before they open anything.