How to Add a Thumbnail to a Video on YouTube

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Co-authored by Anar Kazimov and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: July 12, 2023

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This wikiHow teaches you how to upload a new thumbnail to a YouTube video on your channel.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using a Phone or Tablet

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It's the white icon with a red gear. If you haven't already installed this app, you can download it for free from the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Play Store (Android).^{[1]
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It's the three horizontal lines at the top-left corner.

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This displays a list of your videos.
If you have a lot of videos in your list, you can sort them by tapping Sort by to make it easier to find what you're looking for.
It's the pencil at the top of the screen.
This time, the pencil icon you'll need to tap is at the upper-left corner of the current thumbnail. This brings you to the Edit Thumbnail screen.
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Select a thumbnail. You can tap any of the three automatically-generated thumbnails to set one quickly, or tap Custom thumbnail to select an image from your phone or tablet. After selecting a thumbnail, tap Select at the top-right to confirm.
- Your thumbnail image should be about 1280 x 720 resolution, with a minimum with of 640 pixels. The image should be in the JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG format.
It's at the top-right corner. Your new thumbnail is now live.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using a Computer

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1
Open YouTube. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in your computer's web browser. Doing so will open your YouTube home page if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged into your YouTube account, click SIGN IN in the top-right corner of the page, then enter your email address and password when prompted.
It's the circular photo (or initial) in the top-right corner of the page. A drop-down menu will appear.
This takes you to the Studio page.
It's on the left side of the page. You will see a list of your videos appear.^{[2]
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When you hover your mouse cursor over the video, a pencil icon will appear. Clicking this icon opens the video for editing.
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Click Upload thumbnail to select a thumbnail image from your computer. It's under the "Thumbnail" header below the video description.
- If you'd rather choose an automatically-generated thumbnail image, click the image you want to use below the description instead.
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Select the thumbnail image and click Open. This uploads the image to YouTube Studio.
- Your thumbnail image should be about 1280 x 720 resolution, with a minimum with of 640 pixels. The image should be in the JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG format.
This button is near the top-right corner of the page. Your new thumbnail is now live.

Expert Q&A

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Question

Can a good thumbnail increase views on my YouTube video?

Anar Kazimov
Digital Marketing Expert
Anar Kazimov is a Digital Marketing Expert based in Vancouver, Canada. He is the Owner and Marketing Director of Pixel Prodigies, a company created to help business owners achieve more sales by revamping their digital portfolio. He has helped the NIH, IBM, Canadian film studios, Rolex dealerships, and many other firms in their marketing campaigns. He previously had a career in the IT industry and worked at Freelancer.com. He received a BS in Computer Science from the University of Victoria.

Anar Kazimov

Digital Marketing Expert

Expert Answer

Yes! Good thumbnails do increase views of your videos. A good thumbnail will attract their attention towards your videos and make them click your video. This is like a good ad campaign picture that catches your eye while having a customer in front of it. If your thumbnail is also that attractive for a peek, then it displays the video visually and makes the content more attention-grabbing rather than the others. It's kind of similar to how a well-designed advertisement sparks the minds of people, where an interesting thumbnail will most certainly increase the click rate on your video, which will also drive up views and overall engagements.

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Question

How can I do this on my iPhone?

Community Answer

You can only do this on a computer. It's because the video manager and settings are only accessible on a laptop or desktop computer.

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Question

Can I do all these using a phone?

Community Answer

I believe you can only do this on a computer. The video manager and settings are only used on a laptop/computer.

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Thank you for your feedback.
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