How to Get a Video URL from Google

To get a video’s URL from Google, open the video from the search results and copy the link from your browser’s address bar, or use the video site’s Share > Copy button. Google Search doesn’t host videos itself, so the link points to wherever the video lives, usually YouTube.

These steps work in current versions of Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android, and in the YouTube app. If your video is stored in Google Drive instead, skip to the Google Drive section.

How to Copy a Video’s URL on a Computer

1. Search on Google. Select the Videos tab under the search box if you want only video results.

2. Click the video’s title. It opens on the site that hosts it, such as YouTube, Vimeo, or a news site.
3. Click once in the address bar at the top of the browser. The whole address is highlighted.

4. Press Ctrl + C (Cmd + C on a Mac) to copy it. You can now paste it into an email, a document, or a chat.

On YouTube there’s a second option that gives a shorter link:

1. Click Share under the video.
2. Click Copy next to the link. The link starts with youtu.be and is ready to paste.

YouTube’s help page on sharing videos documents the Share and Copy buttons. Either link opens the same video.

Copy the link without opening the video

Right-click the video’s title in the Google results and choose Copy link address in Chrome or Edge (Copy Link in Safari, Copy Link in Firefox). That copies the link Google shows for the result. Sometimes it starts with a Google address and redirects to the video, so it looks longer than the real URL. Open the video and copy from the address bar when you want the clean address.

How to Share a Video at a Specific Time

1. On YouTube, click Share under the video.
2. Check the Start at box.
3. Enter the time, such as 2:30, or pause the video at that point first so the box fills in for you.
4. Click Copy.

Whoever opens the link starts at that moment instead of the beginning.

How to Copy a Video’s URL on a Phone

1. Tap the video in the Google results.
2. If it opens in the YouTube app, tap Share under the video, then tap Copy link.

3. If it opens in a browser, tap the address bar and copy the address. In Safari on iPhone, you can also tap the Share button and choose Copy.

To copy a result’s link without opening it, touch and hold the title in the Google results and tap the copy option (Copy Link in Safari, Copy link address in Chrome).

Links from the YouTube app’s Copy link button often end in ?si= followed by letters and numbers. That part identifies the share. The video plays fine if you delete everything from the question mark on.

How to Get a Link to a Video in Google Drive

If “video from Google” means a video saved in your Google Drive, the link comes from Drive’s share options. Google Drive Help explains these in Share files from Google Drive.

1. In Google Drive on a computer, select the video.
2. Click Share.
3. Under General access, choose Restricted (only people you add) or Anyone with the link.

4. Click Copy link, then click Done.

If you pick Restricted, people you haven’t added get an access request page instead of the video.

Saving a Video to Watch Offline

Copying a URL doesn’t download the video. YouTube’s own offline downloads need a YouTube Premium membership, per Watch videos offline with YouTube Premium. On a computer, they work on youtube.com in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera.

1. Open the video while signed in to your Premium account and click Download below it.

2. Wait for the icon to finish. YouTube resumes the download automatically if your connection drops.
3. Watch it later from Downloads in the left menu on youtube.com, or in the app from the You tab. For iPhone details, read about downloading a YouTube video on an iPhone.

Downloads play only while you’re signed in to the same account, and YouTube needs you to reconnect at least every 29 days to keep them.

Skip “video URL downloader” sites. YouTube’s Terms of Service don’t allow downloading unless YouTube shows a download button or link, or the owner gives permission, and these sites often push pop-ups and malware. You can download your own uploads in YouTube Studio (Content > your video > Menu > Download), as described in Download your own videos. YouTube allows up to five downloads of a single video per day.

Troubleshooting

• The link opens the wrong spot in the video. A Start at time is attached, or the address contains &t= or ?t= and a number. Remove that part to start from the beginning.
• The person you sent it to sees “Video unavailable.” The video may be private, removed, or blocked in their country. Unlisted videos still play for anyone with the link.
• The copied link is very long. You copied a Google results link. Open the video and copy the address bar instead.
• No Share button in the YouTube app. Swipe the row of buttons under the video to the left. On a Short, the Share button is on the right side of the screen.

Frequently Asked Questions