YouTube takes action against spam in Shorts videos

YouTube is taking steps to address the spam issue, especially with its Shorts feature, by disabling links in various sections of the platform.

The move is part of the platform's ongoing efforts to combat spam and misinformation. Starting August 31st, links in Shorts descriptions, comments, and the vertical live feed will be deactivated, making them unclickable. Additionally, social media icons on desktop channel banners will lose their clickable functionality.

While YouTube acknowledges that these measures may not completely eliminate spam, the platform emphasizes the importance of preventive actions to deter scammers and spammers from misleading or scamming users through links.

The company states, "Because abuse tactics evolve quickly, we have to take preventative measures to make it harder for scammers and spammers to mislead or scam users via links."

At the same time YouTube is introducing a new feature: clickable links on creators' channels. Beginning August 23rd, a prominent clickable link will appear beside the Subscribe button. This link will allow creators to guide users to various destinations, such as merchandise websites or social media profiles.

The platform is also working to reduce the prevalence of impersonation accounts, which is a common way to spread spam and malicious activity. YouTube has reportedly improved its strategies for identifying and removing impersonation accounts, which has led to a significant increase in the removal of accounts in this category. In the first quarter of 2023, 35% more impersonating accounts were removed than in the same period in 2022.

In addition, the streamer started leaving more comments for verification thanks to the newly introduced Increase Strictness feature.