Sharing media – be it GIFs, videos, pictures, or music – is a great way of connecting with friends, showing your loved ones you’re thinking of them, networking with potential clients and colleagues, or just hollering about your latest creative project. Doing so over WhatsApp is easy and quick.
To learn how to share a YouTube video on WhatsApp, simply follow our step-by-step guide below. For any additional queries or information, please direct your attention to our FAQs, listed at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
- Ensure you are signed into your WhatsApp account on your mobile or tablet app
- Open up the YouTube app on your mobile or tablet device
- Next, search for and tap on the YouTube video you wish to share on WhatsApp
- Below the video, you should see a ‘Share’ icon, tap on it now
- From the pop-up menu, locate and tap on the ‘WhatsApp’ app icon (which will be there so long as you have the WhatsApp app installed on your device)
- You will be redirected to the WhatsApp app ‘Send to…’ screen. From this screen, locate the contact(s) you wish to share the YouTube video with – if you cannot see them in the list of recent and frequently contacted contacts, then you can search for them via the magnifying glass ‘Search’ icon in the top-right. Tap on the contact(s).
- Tip: You can select multiple contacts at this point to send the video to. Once you’ve selected all of them, proceed to the next step.
- Now, tap the green ‘Send’ arrow
- Finally, add a message (if you like) to the shared YouTube video. Something like “Hey, I just watched this and thought you might like it too.” for example.
- When you’re happy, press the green ‘Send’ arrow again, and your YouTube video, along with the message attached, will be sent to your chosen contact(s).
- Ensure you are signed into your WhatsApp account on your mobile or tablet app
- Open up your preferred web browser and navigate to the YouTube website
- Next, search for and tap on the YouTube video you wish to share on WhatsApp
- Below the video, you should see a ‘Share’ icon, tap on it now
- Provided you have the WhatsApp app installed on your mobile or tablet device, you should now see the WhatsApp icon in the pop-up menu, tap on it now
- You will be redirected to the WhatsApp app ‘Send to…’ screen. From this screen, locate the contact(s) you wish to share the YouTube video with – if you cannot see them in the list of recent and frequently contacted contacts, then you can search for them via the magnifying glass ‘Search’ icon in the top-right. Tap on the contact(s).
- Tip: You can select multiple contacts at this point to send the video to. Once you’ve selected all of them, proceed to the next step.
- Now, tap the green ‘Send’ arrow
- Finally, add a message (if you like) to the shared YouTube video. Something like “Hey, I just watched this and thought you might like it too.” for example.
- When you’re happy, press the green ‘Send’ arrow again, and your YouTube video, along with the message attached, will be sent to your chosen contact(s).
- Ensure that you have the WhatsApp desktop app downloaded and that you have it up and running and are signed into your account
- Next, open your preferred web browser and navigate to the YouTube website
- Search for and click on the YouTube video you’d like to share with your WhatsApp contact(s)
- Below the video there’s a ‘Share’ button, click on it
- From the pop-up menu, click the ‘Copy’ button next to the video’s URL
- Now, navigate on your PC onto the WhatsApp app which you loaded and signed into earlier
- Find and open the chat(s) you wish to share your YouTube video with
- Next, click in the text box and either press CTRL + V on your keyboard, or right-click and select ‘Paste’ from the pop-up menu
- Finally, add a message to your shared video link if you like (something like “Hey, I just watched this and thought you might like it too” for example), and when happy, click the green arrow ‘Send’ button to the right
- Repeat as necessary to send the same link to as many contacts or groups as you wish
And there you have it! A bit more fiddly on the desktop, for sure, but easy as pie on the mobile or tablet, whether you have the YouTube app installed or not! Happy sharing!
For any additional queries or information, please see our FAQs below.
Frequently asked questions
WhatsApp is a fantastic, end-to-end encrypted messaging service from Facebook. Millions of people, all around the world, use the app on a daily basis to speak with friends, family, even colleagues. In addition to simple text-based messaging, WhatsApp allows its users to share GIFs, images, photos, videos, links, edit their background wallpapers, message multiple contacts at once as part of a WhatsApp group, and much, much more.
One of the best things about WhatsApp is that it is so synonymous with messaging, an option to share various links and media through WhatsApp has been integrated into a large number of apps. Facebook, for example (who of course own WhatsApp), allows its users to quickly and easily share posts or content from Facebook on WhatsApp (and vice versa) with just a couple taps of the ‘Share’ icon.
Likewise, you can share YouTube videos with your friends on WhatsApp. We hardly need to explain why this might be beneficial. Sharing music videos, documentaries, blooper reels of your favorite shows, funny clips – all are great ways of connecting with your friends and family and bringing their attention to things you think they might be interested in.
Alternatively, maybe you have got something you’d like to promote yourself, which you or a colleague has uploaded to YouTube. Sharing the video with contacts on WhatsApp is a pretty surefire way to draw their attention to it.
Do my contacts have to have the YouTube app to view the video?
No, not at all. As with any link you might share on WhatsApp, what happens when one of your contacts taps that link all depends on the apps they do or do not have installed. If they have the YouTube app installed on their device, then tapping the link will afford them the opportunity to navigate to the YouTube app and watch your shared video there.
However, if your contacts don’t have the YouTube app, then they’ll simply be directed to the YouTube website instead, and can watch it there quite happily. Essentially, so long as your contacts have an internet connection (presumably they’ll need to access your shared video message in the first place), then they can access the YouTube video.
Can my contacts play the YouTube video without having to leave WhatsApp?
Yes, they totally can. In fact, when any of your contacts initially click on the YouTube video link which you’ve shared, the video will be displayed to them in a mini, embedded player, meaning that they can watch the full thing (even blowing it up to the full screen) without having to leave the WhatsApp app.
Only if your contacts want to, can they navigate off-app to the YouTube app or website (depending on what they have installed, as discussed in the previous FAQ), to continue watching the video.
This really depends on the video, but in most cases, the answer is yes. Of course, if the original poster/owner and uploader of the video has prohibited the sharing of the video, then you’ll not be able to.
Another good example of problematic sharing is if you decided to share age-restricted content from YouTube to WhatsApp. This is totally okay, provided you are of legal age. The only thing is that your contacts will also have to be of a legal age to watch the video, and have a YouTube account to prove it, or else they will not be able to view it, whether on WhatsApp or off it.
