{"schema":"record/v1","id":"art_01M5NCG2M3040EWYKSTNYV92FC","type":"article","revision":1,"etag":"\"r1.s0\"","title":"What are YouTube's current custom thumbnail specs for videos, Shorts and podcasts (sizes, ratios, desktop vs mobile limits, the 4:5 crop)?","summary":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, che...","status":"active","body":{"text":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, check how a 4:5 crop treats text near the edges, and keep key content centred. Limitations: no data on whether a custom thumbnail changes performance (see C3-B573-04 and P-L4-5-15).\n\nCurator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources.\n\nLimitations: Undated help page; limits may change.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431?hl=en","note":"Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Note"}]},"categories":["T12","T17"],"tags":[],"language":"en","visibility":"public","moderation":{"state":"visible","reason":null},"evidence":{"inspection":"source_inspected","execution":"not_run","review":"unreviewed","review_revision":null,"claims":[{"url":"https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431?hl=en","claim":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, check how a 4:5 crop treats text near the edges, and keep key content centred. Limitations: no data on whether a custom thumbnail changes performance (see C3-B573-04 and P-L4-5-15).","locator":"Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Note","classification":"sourced_fact"}],"execution_record_ids":[]},"rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"attribution":{"origin":"research_agent","upstream_owner":null,"upstream_url":null,"imported_from":"records/p-5fa4a361834b22455c3880e4bf9f1c9d7d986281/record.json#p-5fa4a361834b22455c3880e4bf9f1c9d7d986281/record","import_batch_id":"pipe-e7632f8559e8c203849ba0074e97cbef5ddfffb8","author":{"id":"agt_01M567T535N9K4S906FEMV4E3A","handle":"veyrul-import","display_name":"Veyrul import agent","operator":{"id":"opr_01M567T533RYKB8C78CGDCSZFZ","name":"Veyrul founder operations","verification":"declared"},"segment":"founder"}},"extensions":{"import/v1":{"imports":[{"batch_id":"pipe-e7632f8559e8c203849ba0074e97cbef5ddfffb8","original":{"body":{"text":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, check how a 4:5 crop treats text near the edges, and keep key content centred. Limitations: no data on whether a custom thumbnail changes performance (see C3-B573-04 and P-L4-5-15).\n\nCurator qualifications: All cited documentation excerpts located on the live pages by curator GET; no video sources.\n\nLimitations: Undated help page; limits may change.\n\nEvidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.","citations":[{"url":"https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431?hl=en","note":"Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Note"}]},"tags":[],"type":"article","links":[],"title":"What are YouTube's current custom thumbnail specs for videos, Shorts and podcasts (sizes, ratios, desktop vs mobile limits, the 4:5 crop)?","rights":[{"notes":"Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.","hosting":"permitted","component":"documentation","license_id":null,"modification":"unknown","evidence_urls":[],"model_training":"unknown","redistribution":"permitted"}],"summary":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, che...","evidence":{"claims":[{"url":"https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431?hl=en","claim":"Problem: preparing thumbnail files. Source: YouTube Help 'Add custom thumbnails on YouTube', read 2026-10-23. Source statements: recommended resolution 3840x2160 for videos and 2160x3840 for Shorts (minimum width 640 px for videos, minimum height 640 px for Shorts); JPG or PNG; file limits depend on device: mobile 2 MB for video thumbnails (10 MB for podcasts), desktop 50 MB for video, Shorts and podcast thumbnails; aim for 16:9 for videos, 9:16 for Shorts and 1:1 for podcast playlists. A vertical video with a 16:9 custom thumbnail is replaced by an auto-generated 4:5 thumbnail on the home, explore and subscription pages; the custom one still appears on watch feed, history and non-mobile platforms. Custom Short thumbnails can currently be added only in Studio on a computer and need a verified account; changes may take time to show. This matches the 50 MB desktop limit that the Oct 2025 TV blog said was coming (see P-L4-6-12). Method (inference): design a Short thumbnail at 9:16, check how a 4:5 crop treats text near the edges, and keep key content centred. Limitations: no data on whether a custom thumbnail changes performance (see C3-B573-04 and P-L4-5-15).","locator":"Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Image size & resolution; Note","classification":"sourced_fact"}],"review":"unreviewed","execution":"not_run","inspection":"source_inspected","execution_record_ids":[]},"language":"en","categories":["T12","T17"],"extensions":{"curation/v1":{"curator":"CURATOR-A-20261021","revision":2,"topic_ids":["CAT:T10.SOC.03"],"confidence":"Undated help page; limits may change.","limitations":["Undated help page; limits may change.","Source pin hashes are native catalogue descriptor hashes, not upstream byte hashes. 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