How to Retrieve a YouTube Video Thumbnail

Retrieve the original thumbnail for your uploaded YouTube video.

Each time you upload a video clip or home movie to the YouTube online video-sharing site, YouTube selects a frame from the video clip to display as the thumbnail link image for the video. This video thumbnail displays in your YouTube channel, the YouTube Related Videos pane and in YouTube and Google search engine results. After uploading a video clip you can select which frame to use as the thumbnail from a choice of three, or you can allow YouTube to automatically select the thumbnail. If you previously changed the thumbnail view and want to retrieve the original, you need to edit the video in your YouTube account settings.

Instructions

1. Log into YouTube.

2. Click the down arrow beside your username in the top navigation menu. Select "Videos" from the context menu.

3. Find the video with the thumbnail that you want to edit in your list of uploaded videos. Click the "Edit" button under the title of the video.

4. Scroll to the Video Thumbnail section about halfway down the page. This box displays the thumbnail choices for the video clip. Click the thumbnail that you want to retrieve from the displayed options.

5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save Changes" button. This changes the video thumbnail.

Tips & Warnings

• It may take several hours for your retrieved thumbnail image to display on YouTube and all sites or search engines that link to the video.

References

• YouTube: Picking a Video Thumbnail

Resources

• YouTube: What Can We Help You With?