It can be hard to watch YouTube videos that drag on. Fortunately, YouTube's timestamp feature allows viewers to jump to key moments in videos.
Creators that add timestamps to their videos, especially longer videos, are a godsend because they save you valuable time. Moreover, every user can add their own timestamps on a YouTube video by using the comment section. Let's go over how you can use this feature.
How to Add Timestamps to Your YouTube Comments
We all know how to leave a comment under a YouTube video, but how do you add timestamps to it? It's simple. Follow the steps below to get started.
- Open YouTube and start watching a video.
- After identifying the part of the video you want to reference, go to the comments section and tap Add a comment or tap Add a reply if you're responding to someone else's comment.
- Tap the timestamp icon first and start typing your comment.
- If you want to reference multiple points in the video in the same comment, tap the timestamp icon again and type your second response. Your comment will now show two timestamps. It's best to add timestamped comments while a video is playing so that the correct part of the video is referenced.
Please note that you can only add timestamped comments to long-form YouTube content, not Shorts.
Why You Should Add Timestamps to Your YouTube Comments
YouTube started testing timestamped comments in 2021. In the past, commenters had to pause the video and note the time at the moment they were referring to. Afterward, they manually added the timestamp to their comments to reference that part of the video.
As you can imagine, that's a time-consuming process, but using timestamps saves you time. Use it when referencing a specific part of the video or a moment when someone said something important to you.
Plus, this gives context to those reading your comment and makes it easier for them to engage with it. By tapping the timestamp in your comment, they can jump straight to the moment you're referring to in the video, which helps you avoid follow-up questions.
Give Readers Context When Commenting on YouTube Videos
YouTube's comment timestamps are one of the platform's convenient features. Add timestamps to your YouTube comments to make both your life and readers' lives easier and save you time.