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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Links in Descriptions
YouTube allows links in video descriptions and comments, but links to porn, malware, phishing, pirated content, regulated goods such as online casinos, or other content that breaks its rules can bring a warning, a strike or removal. Links in long video descriptions are clickable; in Shorts descriptions they have not been since Aug 31, 2023.
YouTube lets creators put links in a video's description, but its External links policy forbids any link to content that would break the Community Guidelines on YouTube itself: pornography, malware, phishing, pirated paid content, sites selling regulated goods such as online gambling, and the rest of Help's list. A first offense is usually a warning, then strikes, and the rule covers clickable links, URLs typed as text, disguised addresses ("dot com") and even spoken directions. Links in a long video's description and comments are clickable; links in Shorts descriptions and comments stopped being clickable from Aug 31, 2023.
Quick facts
| Rule | External links policy, part of the Community Guidelines |
| Applies to | Descriptions, comments, pinned comments, posts, channels, live streams, spoken words |
| First violation | Usually a warning; then strikes |
| Long video descriptions and comments | Clickable |
| Shorts descriptions and comments | Not clickable since Aug 31, 2023 |
| External link cards | Partner Program members, up to 5 cards a video |
| Limit on number of description links | None published |
| As of | Nov 6, 2026 |
Sources: External links policy, Add info cards to videos, YouTube Help; Tubefilter, Aug 10, 2023.
Which links are not allowed on YouTube?
Help's list, which it says is not complete (External links policy):
- Pornography.
- Sites or apps that install malware or unwanted software.
- Phishing for sign-in or financial details.
- Unauthorized access to paid audio, video, games, software or streaming services.
- Fundraising or recruiting for terrorist organizations, and violent attackers' manifestos.
- Child sexual abuse imagery.
- Sites selling regulated goods.
- Content that breaks the hate speech or harassment policies, or encourages violence.
- Misleading content with a serious risk of egregious harm, such as interfering with elections.
Exceptions are possible for educational, documentary, scientific or artistic content in the public interest. The policy reaches past clickable links: a URL written as text, an address disguised to dodge filters, and telling viewers out loud where to find a violating site all count, and asking viewers to copy and paste an unclickable link is one of Help's own examples of a violation.
Gambling, giveaways and shorteners
Some cases come up again and again in George Vanous's notes from running the Freedom! network:
- Online casinos. YouTube restricts links to sites selling regulated goods, and his notes record channels terminated for direct description links to casino sites where bets can be placed, even a UK-licensed one (Channel Termination).
- Subscribe-to-enter gates. In Feb 2019 TeamYouTube said giveaways are still allowed, but not links to sites whose only aim is to drive up subscriptions, views or likes. Download gates that required a subscription, and link shorteners that pay their users from ads, brought strikes on channels in his network. His advice: run contests, but never make subscribing a condition of entry. YouTube's spam policy says the same in general terms: no rewards in exchange for likes, views or subscribers (Spam Policy).
- Shorteners in comments. He found YouTube automatically removed comments containing links from one short-link service; shortened links in comments can be treated as spam.
What happens if a link breaks the rules?
YouTube removes the violating content and emails the creator. It may remove a link it cannot verify as safe, and a violating URL in a video or its metadata can lead to the whole video's removal. The first violation usually brings a warning with no penalty, which a policy training lets expire after 90 days; repeating it in that window can bring a strike, and three strikes in 90 days can end the channel (External links policy). Since YouTube's 2019 strike system, a link strike can remove just the link and leave the video up, as George's notes record; one channel in his network had link strikes lifted after explaining the links were required by the artist and removing every similar link.
Which links are clickable on YouTube?
| Where | Clickable? |
|---|---|
| Long video descriptions | Yes |
| Comments on long videos | Yes |
| Shorts descriptions and comments | No, since Aug 31, 2023 |
| Links on the channel page, beside Subscribe | Yes |
| Info cards to an external website | Yes, for Partner Program members |
| Brand deal links on Shorts | Yes, when the brand reports the partnership |
Sources: Tubefilter, Aug 10, 2023; Add info cards to videos; Brand Partnerships: External Links on Shorts, YouTube Help.
YouTube turned Shorts links off because spammers used them to push malware, phishing and scams. In the same change, social media icons on desktop channel banners stopped showing from Aug 10, 2023, and channel pages got prominent clickable links near the Subscribe button instead (Tubefilter). Info cards that link to an outside website need the YouTube Partner Program, up to 5 cards per video, shown to viewers on computers, and none on videos made for kids. A brand deal link on a Short appears as a sticker, in the description or both, once the brand has reported the deal and the link passes a safety scan that can take up to 20 minutes (Paid Promotions and Sponsorships).
How many links can a description have?
YouTube publishes no limit on the number of links in a description, and neither its spam policy nor its External links policy sets one (Spam Policy). What the spam policy does forbid is content made solely to send viewers off YouTube. George's notes include YouTube's own channel feedback to a 1.29 million subscriber animator whose videos had dropped out of suggestions: use the first lines of the description to say what the video is about rather than for links, and use fewer links. That is advice, not a rule. The "40" often quoted for description links is a different thing: the number of characters of each link YouTube shows before shortening it, as George found (below).
Small things that break links
George Vanous of Freedom! found in a 2020 video that "40 is the limit for links in YouTube descriptions" is about length, not number: YouTube showed a link of up to 40 characters in full in the description and cut a 41-character one short with "...". It is a limit on how much of each link readers see, and YouTube publishes no cap on how many links a description can hold.
His advice for descriptive links, written out so readers can see where they lead, was to use a short domain, since every character of it counts toward the 40 shown.
A punctuation mark typed right after a URL can be pulled into it and break the link, so George's tip is to leave a space after every link in a description or comment (Titles Descriptions and Tags).
Frequently asked questions
Can I put links in my YouTube description? Yes. Links in a YouTube video's description are allowed and clickable on long videos, as long as they do not lead to content that breaks the Community Guidelines, such as pornography, malware, phishing or online gambling sites.
Can a link in a YouTube description get a strike? Yes. A link to content that violates YouTube's rules usually brings a warning first, then a Community Guidelines strike for a repeat, and YouTube may remove the link or the whole video.
Why are links in YouTube Shorts descriptions not clickable? YouTube made links in Shorts descriptions and comments unclickable from Aug 31, 2023 because spammers used them for malware, phishing and scams. Long-form video descriptions keep clickable links.
Can I link to a giveaway on YouTube? Yes, giveaways are allowed on YouTube, but not links to sites whose only aim is to drive up subscriptions, views or likes, and subscribing must not be a condition of entry.
Does an unclickable link avoid YouTube's link rules? No. YouTube's External links policy covers URLs written as text, disguised addresses and spoken directions, and asking viewers to copy and paste a violating link is a violation.
How many links can I put in a YouTube description? YouTube publishes no limit on the number of description links. Its spam policy forbids content made only to send viewers off YouTube.
Sources
- External links policy, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Spam Policy, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Add info cards to videos, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Brand Partnerships: External Links on Shorts, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- 40 is the limit for links in YouTube descriptions!, Freedom!, Oct 1, 2020 (video)
- YouTube isn't banning giveaways, but the platform is cracking down on inflated engagement metrics, 9to5Google, Feb 26, 2019
- YouTube's banning clickable links from Shorts descriptions and comments, Tubefilter, Aug 10, 2023
Moments
40 is the limit for links in YouTube descriptions!
Freedom!
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See also
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Community Guidelines StrikesA first YouTube Community Guidelines violation is usually only a warning, which expires 90 days after you finish a short policy training. After that, strikes freeze posting for one week, then two, and a third strike in 90 days can remove the channel.
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Channel TerminationYouTube terminates a channel for three strikes in 90 days, repeated violations, one case of severe abuse or a channel dedicated to breaking a policy. You can appeal in YouTube Studio within a year, twice, and a pilot lets some terminated creators ask for a new channel after a year.
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YouTube Partner ProgramThe YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is how creators earn from YouTube. Ads need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days; fan funding and Shopping open earlier, at 500 subscribers. New applicants need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views from Feb 1, 2027.
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Paid Promotions and SponsorshipsYouTube requires creators to declare any sponsorship, product placement, endorsement or other branded content by ticking the paid promotion box in YouTube Studio, which shows viewers a disclosure at the start of the video; some products may never be promoted and burned-in video ads are not allowed.
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Titles Descriptions and TagsA YouTube title can be 100 characters, a description 5,000 and the tags 500 in total, and none may contain < or >. Over 60 hashtags and YouTube ignores them all. Misleading titles, ALL CAPS and stuffed tags can cost a channel its monetization.
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Age RestrictionAn age-restricted YouTube video can only be watched by viewers who are signed in and 18 or older, mostly not on other websites, and it may earn limited or no ads. Creators can restrict their own videos or appeal YouTube's restriction in YouTube Studio.