Want to compare your before and after? Paste a link to grab the current thumbnail, then follow the steps below to upload a new one. The tool is only for grabbing existing images; you change a video's thumbnail inside YouTube Studio.
You can change a YouTube thumbnail any time after a video is published, from a computer in YouTube Studio or from your phone in the app. Uploading your own image needs a verified account, but any account can switch between the three frames YouTube generates automatically. Below are the exact steps for desktop and mobile, the image requirements, and what to do when the new thumbnail does not update.
YouTube only accepts a custom thumbnail that meets its upload rules, so get the image right first.
This is the fastest way and gives you the full editor.
The YouTube Studio app is the reliable route on mobile.
Uploading from a phone means the image is already in your camera roll. If you want a reference shot of the old thumbnail first, our guide to saving a thumbnail on your phone covers the long-press save on iPhone and Android.
If you have not verified your account, or you just want a cleaner still, YouTube offers three thumbnails pulled from the video itself. They appear next to the upload button in the Thumbnail section on both desktop and mobile. Pick the sharpest one and save; no image file or verification is needed.
A thumbnail that looks great full size can get lost as a small tile in search or the sidebar. Before you commit, drop your design into the YouTube thumbnail tester to see it at real size in mock home, search, sidebar, and mobile layouts. It is faster than uploading, checking, and re-uploading.
After you save, the watch page usually refreshes within minutes, but search results, embeds, and the high-resolution maxresdefault.jpg file can lag by a few hours, and your own browser may be caching the old image. If it looks stuck, read why a YouTube thumbnail is not showing or updating for the cache and processing fixes. To confirm what YouTube has actually stored, paste the link into the thumbnail grabber and check the live file rather than a cached view.
Yes. You can change a thumbnail at any time after a video is published, as often as you like. Open the video in YouTube Studio, upload a new image or pick a different auto-generated frame, and save.
You need a verified account to upload a custom image. Verification is a one-time phone confirmation at youtube.com/verify. Without it you can still choose between the three auto-generated frames.
1280x720 pixels at a 16:9 ratio, under 2 MB, in JPG, PNG, or GIF. That is the size YouTube recommends and the resolution it stores as maxresdefault.jpg. The size guide has the full chart.
Use the YouTube Studio app: tap Content, tap the video, tap the pencil, tap the thumbnail, then upload a custom image or choose a frame and save. The main YouTube app can edit your own video's thumbnail too.
The watch page updates fast, but YouTube's image CDN and the maxresdefault.jpg file can take a few hours, and your browser may show a cached copy. Hard-refresh or use a private window, and see the not showing or updating guide.
Yes. In YouTube Studio, open the Short under Content and use the same thumbnail options to upload a custom image or pick a frame. If the option is missing, update the app, since thumbnail editing for Shorts rolled out gradually.
Need the old image for a before-and-after, or a competitor's for reference? Grab any thumbnail with the how to find a YouTube thumbnail guide or the YouTube thumbnail downloader.
