YouTube Shorts URL cleaner
Paste a YouTube Shorts link. We strip every tracking and referrer parameter (?si=, ?feature=, ?utm_*, &t=, &list=) and give you back the canonical URL — clean enough for a Twitter post or a Slack message.
Want this automated for every Short? Try Reupload →
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove ?si= from a YouTube link?
Paste the link into the field above and the cleaner returns the URL without ?si=, plus any other tracking parameter YouTube glued onto it. Click Copy clean URL. The video ID and the path (whether it's /shorts/, /watch?v=, or youtu.be/) are preserved exactly — only tracking is removed, so the link still opens the same video.
What is ?si= on a YouTube URL?
?si= is a session identifier YouTube appends to every shared link. It tells YouTube which share session a click came from — they use it for analytics on which shares drive views. It does NOT identify you personally to the recipient, but it does make the URL longer and uglier and leaks attribution to whoever you're sharing with.
Why does YouTube add tracking parameters to shared links?
Two reasons: ad attribution (which shares drive engagement) and recommendation tuning (the algorithm sees which clips travel through which channels). Removing the params doesn't break the link — the destination video and the playback position (if you set ?t=) keep working as long as you keep the meaningful query params, which the cleaner does.
Is removing tracking from a YouTube URL safe? Will it break the link?
Safe and non-destructive. The cleaner only strips known tracking parameters (?si, ?feature, ?utm_*, ?pp, ?ab_channel, &list, &start_radio); the video ID, the /shorts/ vs /watch path, and timestamps you explicitly set are preserved. The cleaned URL opens the same video on the same platform.
How do I copy a clean YouTube Shorts link?
Paste the dirty link, click Copy clean URL. That's it — no signup, no install, no extension. The cleaned URL goes to your clipboard and you can paste it into Twitter, Slack, an email, anywhere. Works on desktop and mobile browsers.
Does this URL cleaner send my links anywhere?
No. The cleaner is pure JavaScript running on this page in your browser — there's no fetch to our backend, no analytics, nothing logged. Open DevTools → Network tab while you use it: zero requests fire when you paste or click Copy. Your URLs never leave your machine.
Does this work on YouTube Music and YouTube Kids URLs?
Yes. The cleaner accepts any youtube.com, youtu.be, m.youtube.com, and music.youtube.com URL. It strips the same tracking params (?si=, ?feature=, ?utm_*) on all of them. The video / track / playlist ID is preserved.
What params does the cleaner strip exactly?
?si, ?feature, ?utm_source, ?utm_medium, ?utm_campaign, ?utm_term, ?utm_content, ?pp, ?app, ?ab_channel, ?embeds_referring_euri, ?embeds_referring_origin, ?source_ve_path, &list, &index, &start_radio. The video ID itself (v=, /shorts/<id>, /watch?v=) and your ?t= timestamp are kept.