In April 2026 YouTube described Share at Timestamp on mobile as the main way to share a specific moment, replacing Clips. A timestamp link is a pointer into someone else’s video. That is the right tool when you want a friend to start watching at 3:12.
What a timestamp cannot do
- It does not define a finish. The video keeps going.
- It does not sit in a private library next to your other moments.
- It does not apply to a video that only exists on your phone.
- It does not give you a visual tile you can scan in a grid.
Timestamp
Answers: “Where should playback start?” Good for sending a friend into a public video.
Vimpse
Answers: “Which exact section do I want to keep?” Start, finish, title, Wall, replay in the app.
When to use which
Send a timestamp when the other person should watch on YouTube and you do not care where they stop. Save a Vimpse when you will need the same section again — a procedure, a technique, a laugh, a speech — and you want it among your other saved moments, including local videos. You can still share a YouTube Vimpse as a link; that link is a start time, because that is what YouTube accepts.
Step-by-step: save part of a YouTube video.
YouTube Clips, and what replaced them
YouTube retired viewer-side Clips on 17 April 2026. The replacement, Share at Timestamp, is a start pointer. It does not store a finish. If you only need to send someone into a public video, that is enough. If you want a defined section on your own phone, with a title and a place among other moments, that is a Vimpse. Vimpse is not a public clip page and does not replace YouTube’s player.