YouTube Shorts Removes Links in Comments, Channels Due to Spam

Isaiah Richard, Tech Times 10 August 2023, 09:08 pm

One of the most intuitive short-form video platform, YouTube Shorts, have had enough of all the spammers and abusers that post links on its platform, and it has now led to its ban and removal. The decision comes after YouTube Shorts saw a handful of accounts use the ability to add links to mislead the public on different websites, with some focusing on security breaches.

Adding links to one specific post may help the public learn more context or be led to a product they saw on the post, but as helpful as these are, it is also a breeding ground for illicit activities online.

YouTube Shorts Removes Links on the Platform

(Photo : NordWood Themes on Unsplash)

Team YouTube has announced new changes coming to Shorts starting today, August 10, some links would no longer be allowed on different areas of the vertical video feature. Links in the description and the comments by August 31.

On the other hand, all social media icons in the desktop channel banner will also no longer serve to redirect the audience to creators' profiles starting August 10.

"We don't have any plans to make any other links unclickable. Because abuse tactics evolve quickly, we have to take preventative measures to make it harder for scammers and spammers to mislead or scam users via links," said YouTube.

For now, those are all the links that would be disabled or removed from the platform due to abuse, and this will help foster a safer environment for all users.

Spammers and Threat Actors Take Over Links

9to5 Google reported that spammers and threat actors have taken over these said links, but that being said, not all links are misleading or aim to steal from users.

Nevertheless, this affects all of YouTube's operations, with this rampant abuse by other entities. Creators get a replacement for the removed social media icon links, as starting August 23, new links would appear on the channel page, near the subscription button.

YouTube Shorts and its Significant Features

TikTok has taken over short-form videos, better known as vertical content online, but some offer similar features like YouTube Shorts and Meta's Reels. With Google's YouTube, Shorts has been one of the most famous in the world because of what it offers, and apart from that, deploys vertical ads taken from horizontal videos thanks to AI.

Back in 2022, Google celebrated the massive user base of Shorts, gaining as many as 1.5 billion viewers logged-in monthly users for the platform. The company expects Shorts to have a larger user base and engagements, with content creators also using the platform to transform their long-form videos to this format.

Still, it is not the leading in its field, and that is okay as YouTube Shorts is regarded as one of the most iconic avenues in the market for all short-form, vertical video needs. That being said, it is now the target of spammers and threat actors who aim to malign viewers into links that lead them someplace else or dubious ones that want to steal their information.