YouTube Shorts Updates: Long Shorts Display Issues & Memberships Enhancements

Understanding the Rollout of Long Shorts

For many Creators, the introduction of longer Shorts has brought a wave of confusion regarding how these videos are classified and where they appear. It is important to first establish a fundamental rule of platform updates: just because a feature has been officially launched does not mean every Creator has immediate access to it. The rollout process can be gradual, often taking weeks or even months to reach the entire community.

As of October 18th, YouTube has implemented a technical switch on the server side. This means that any newly uploaded vertical or square videos with a duration of under three minutes are now technically classified as Shorts. While this backend transition is functioning well, there is a significant disconnect between how the servers treat these files and how they are displayed to the Creator.

The Gap Between Server Logic and YouTube Studio

Currently, many Creators will notice that their long Shorts still appear as standard videos within YouTube Studio. This is not a bug with your specific channel, but rather a result of how the platform is programmed; YouTube Studio operates on different logic than the underlying server technology that classifies the video.

For those tracking their content’s performance and placement, here is the expected timeline for the rollout:

• Immediate/Short-term: Videos under three minutes are classified as Shorts on the backend.
• By the end of next week: Long Shorts should begin appearing in the Shorts feed. However, Creators should expect a gradual ramp-up; not all videos will appear immediately, and initial reach may not be high.
• Late November: This is the expected window for full integration. By this time, long Shorts should appear on the Shorts shelf, within the subscriber feed, and under the “Shorts” tab on channel pages. Crucially, this is also when YouTube Studio is expected to update its display to correctly categorize these videos as Shorts rather than standard videos.

It is understandable that this discrepancy between the Studio view and actual classification is confusing. However, as long as you are following the technical requirements for vertical/square formatting and duration, there is no cause for alarm regarding your account status or video health during this transition.

Future Updates to Creation Tools

While the server-side upload capability exists now, the native creation tools within the YouTube app will lag slightly behind. The Shorts creation tool is scheduled for an update in Q1 2025, which will allow Creators to produce 3-minute Shorts directly within the app.

Creators should keep in mind that “Q1” covers a three-month window and platform timelines are subject to change. Until this update arrives, those wishing to post longer Shorts will need to upload them as files rather than using the in-app recording tool.

Legal Risks and Copyright Considerations

While the ability to produce longer content within the Shorts format offers more creative freedom, it also introduces increased legal risks. Long Shorts are generally riskier than traditional, shorter clips when it comes to copyrighted material.

To protect both the platform and the Creator from legal repercussions, YouTube will globally block long Shorts if copyrighted material is detected. There is a nuance here regarding “strikes”: because these blocks often occur due to gaps in YouTube’s own licensing for longer formats, you likely won’t receive a copyright strike. However, the trade-off is that your content will be blocked entirely, resulting in zero views.

The responsibility lies with the rights holders to prevent copyrighted elements from gaining reach, and the result for the Creator is a total loss of visibility for that specific piece of content. When experimenting with longer durations, it is vital to be extra cautious with audio and visual assets.

Enhancements to Shorts Management and Tooling

Beyond the duration updates, YouTube has introduced several quality-of-life improvements to the Shorts workflow.

Drafts and Iteration

The creation tool in the YouTube app now supports saving multiple drafts. Previously, Creators had to be more linear in their editing process; now, you can save your progress on various clips and return to them later without discarding previous work. This allows for a more iterative creative process, enabling you to step away from a project and refine it over time.

Product Placement Parity

There has also been an update regarding transparency and disclosures. The disclosure box for product placement—which is essential for legal compliance when promoting products—can now be toggled on or off for both Shorts and standard videos across both Desktop and Mobile Studio. This parity ensures that if you forget to mark a video as containing a paid promotion while filming on the go, you can easily rectify it from your desktop later.

YouTube Memberships: Anniversary Updates and Simplification

YouTube is also streamlining the experience for Creators who manage Fan Communities through memberships.

Simplified Asset Uploads

Previously, managing membership branding was a fragmented process, as membership badges and live chat emojis had to be uploaded separately. This has now been simplified into a more cohesive workflow, which is particularly beneficial for mobile-first Creators who may find the desktop Studio cumbersome.

Celebrating Membership Milestones

Channel Memberships are celebrating their five-year anniversary. To mark this occasion, the 5-year loyalty badge is now available for upload within YouTube Studio. This allows Creators to reward their most long-term supporters with a visual marker of their loyalty.

Additionally, because some users had access to membership betas prior to the official 2019 launch, YouTube has indicated that a 6-year update will follow shortly to ensure those early adopters are properly recognized.

Community Feedback and Creator Surveys

To better understand how these changes affect the community and what features should be prioritized next, feedback is being gathered via structured surveys. These surveys help prioritize which requests and ideas are presented to the platform.

There are currently two separate survey paths:

1. German Survey: Focused on the specific needs of the DACH region.
2. English Survey: A more comprehensive version that includes additional questions regarding desired resources for Creators and feedback specifically for the YouTube Gaming Discord.

Creators are encouraged to participate in the survey that matches their primary language, providing one response per person to ensure data accuracy. This feedback loop is essential for ensuring that future “Patch Notes” reflect the actual needs of the Creator community.

Original transcript

Transcript

We need to talk about long Shorts again. Last time we discussed this, there were a lot of follow-up questions, so here’s a recap: Just because a feature is launched, doesn’t mean all Creators have immediate access. It’s a process that can take weeks or even months. YouTube’s current timeline looks like this:

Over the past week, the technical switch was made on the server side, so newly uploaded vertical and square videos under 3 minutes are now classified as Shorts. That part has been working well. However, long Shorts can still appear as videos in YouTube Studio because the Studio is programmed differently from the underlying technology. Long Shorts aren’t yet appearing in the Shorts feed—that will change by the end of next week. Then we’ll start seeing the first Shorts in the feed, but not all of them and not immediately with high reach.

The next step in the timeline is late November. That’s when long Shorts should also appear on the Shorts shelf, in the subscriber feed, and on channel pages in the Shorts tab. That’s also when YouTube Studio will switch over. Until then, the 3-minute Shorts may already be technically classified as Shorts, but they’ll still appear as videos in the Studio. I know that’s confusing, but try not to worry. Nothing bad will happen if you’ve done everything right.

The Shorts creation tool in the YouTube app will be adjusted in Q1 2025 so you can create 3-minute Shorts. Please remember that Q1 spans several months and this timeline could still change.

The information I’m sharing with you today is the latest as of October 18th. Launches can unexpectedly change, so don’t panic if you don’t have immediate access after the launch. I’ll keep you updated in the next episode of Patch Notes.

In the meantime, feel free to experiment, but keep this in mind: Long Shorts are legally riskier than regular Shorts. YouTube will globally block them if copyrighted material is detected to protect itself and you from legal consequences. While you won’t get a strike since YouTube missed the licensing, you also won’t get views because the content will be blocked. It’s the rights holders’ job to prevent content with copyrighted elements from gaining reach.

Staying on Shorts: You can now save multiple drafts in the creation tool. When you open the tool in the app, you can select a draft and continue editing without discarding your previous work—a useful feature.

There’s also a small parity update: The disclosure box for product placement can now be enabled or disabled for both Shorts and videos in Desktop and Mobile Studio—handy if you forget to do it on the go. We should maybe make a separate video about that.

Memberships and Surveys Updates

Previously, membership badges and live chat emojis had to be uploaded separately, but this process has now been simplified, especially for mobile Creators.

Also, memberships are celebrating their 5-year anniversary! The 5-year badge is already available and can be uploaded in YouTube Studio. Since some had access to the beta before the official launch in 2019, a 6-year update will follow soon.

A special thanks goes to knnom, who has been with us for 7 years—that’s truly impressive support!

Finally, I want to revisit last week’s survey. I’ve already received numerous ideas from you, and now we need to prioritize them since not all can be included in the presentation. In the video description, you’ll find two links: to the English and German surveys. Please choose the one that applies to you and participate—one response per person would be ideal. The English survey is a bit more comprehensive and includes questions about the YouTube Gaming Discord and desired resources to support you as Creators.

I’m looking forward to your feedback, and see you next week for more YouTube updates! Stay tuned and keep grinding!

Sources

• Zur Deutschen Umfrage
• Zur Englischen Umfrage (inkl YouTube Gaming Feedback)

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