Does a video need the #Shorts hashtag to count as a Short?

None of the YouTube Help pages read for this page mention a hashtag requirement. They describe the classification by length and aspect ratio: square or vertical, and up to three minutes.

What happens to a vertical video longer than three minutes?

YouTube's Shorts rule covers videos up to three minutes, so a longer vertical upload falls outside it. It is not the format described on YouTube's Shorts pages.

What are the YouTube Shorts monetization criteria?

YouTube lists 1,000 subscribers with either 10 million qualified Shorts views in 90 days or 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months. Check YouTube's page, since the Shorts revenue share rule changes on 1 February 2027.

Can I turn a long YouTube video into Shorts?

Yes. YouTube's own tool takes up to 60 seconds from your public videos. A clipping tool such as KeyMo can cut several vertical clips from a longer source of 5 minutes to 3 hours.

Is a Short just a short regular video?

Not quite. It is a short video in a vertical or square shape that appears in the Shorts feed. A short 16:9 video stays a regular video, which is why shape matters as much as length.

Glossary

What is YouTube Shorts?

By the KeyMo team · Updated October 11, 2026

YouTube Shorts is YouTube's format for short vertical video, shown in its own swipe-through Shorts feed as well as in search, the homepage and on channel pages. Per YouTube Help, a Short can run up to three minutes, a computer upload needs a square or vertical aspect ratio, and the maximum resolution is 1080p.

YouTube Shorts definition and key specs

A Short is an ordinary YouTube video that is short and tall, plus a viewing experience built around it: viewers swipe from one Short to the next in the Shorts player. YouTube Help also lists other places they turn up, including search results, the homepage, a channel's homepage, Subscriptions and notifications.

Read on YouTube Help on 11 October 2026; pages change, so recheck before you build a workflow on them.
Property	What YouTube Help says
Length	Up to 3 minutes
Aspect ratio	Square or vertical; the upload page does not state 9:16 or 1:1 as a requirement
Resolution	Uploads at a maximum of 1080p; YouTube's page gives no pixel size for vertical video
How it is classified	Since 15 October 2024, videos on standard channels that are square or vertical and up to three minutes are categorised as Shorts; earlier uploads stay long-form
Title	Up to 100 characters
Batch upload	Up to 15 videos at a time from a computer

YouTube Shorts duration and aspect ratio in practice

The two limits work together. A video is classed as a Short only if it is both short enough and the right shape. Make the same 40-second clip once as 16:9 and once as 9:16, and YouTube treats the first as a regular video and the second as a Short. YouTube says outright that a wider ratio such as 16:9 keeps a video from being classed as a Short.

On a computer, a 9:16 video may show with padding on either side. YouTube advises against adding padding or black bars to the video yourself. For the exact numbers, see YouTube Shorts length and the aspect ratio spec; aspect ratio explains the shape itself.

How a Short differs from a normal upload

The audience swipes through a feed. A Short's thumbnail is a frame chosen from the video, and it can be edited in the YouTube app only.
View counting differs. From 31 March 2025 a Short view counts every start or replay with no minimum watch time, and the older stay-to-watch measure is kept as Engaged views.
From 24 August 2026 YouTube counts views at the start of play for Shorts, long-form videos and live streams alike.
Music comes from the Shorts Audio Library, where most songs in a three-minute Short can be used for up to 90 seconds, with some limited to 60 or 30.
YouTube's Edit into a Short tool takes up to 60 seconds from one of your own public videos, and cannot use Audio Library music.

YouTube Shorts monetization criteria

YouTube Help describes two ways into the Partner Program: 1,000 subscribers plus 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days, or 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 qualified watch hours in 12 months. The monetization page also says that from 1 February 2027, sharing Shorts ad revenue needs at least 10 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. That date is still ahead, so recheck the page nearer the time.

The same page says non-original Shorts are not eligible for Shorts revenue, such as unedited clips from other people's movies or TV, reuploads and compilations with no original content. This is a summary of YouTube's pages, not financial advice. Rules can change.

Cutting Shorts from a podcast or long video

The usual job is to take one long, wide episode and pull vertical clips from it. A 90-minute interview filmed in 16:9 can yield a 45-second moment, cropped tall around the speaker and under three minutes. That lands inside the Shorts definition. Posting the wide original cut to 45 seconds would not.

KeyMo does this part. Paste a YouTube link on a paid plan or upload an MP4 or MOV, and it returns up to 15 clips, vertical 9:16 at 1080x1920, 30 fps, with captions and no watermark. Clip lengths run 15 to 90 seconds, well inside the three-minute limit. Link import fetches up to 1080p and you must confirm you own the video or have permission. The YouTube to Shorts page walks through it.