How to Share a YouTube Video on Facebook

To share a YouTube video on Facebook, open the video on YouTube, choose Share, and copy its link. In Facebook, start a post, paste the link, choose who can see the post, and publish it. This works as a practical path on a phone or computer because it does not depend on Facebook appearing in your device's share sheet. YouTube also offers social sharing choices in some contexts; check the destination and audience before posting through any shortcut.

The Facebook post points people to the YouTube video. It does not upload a new copy of that video to Facebook, change the video's visibility on YouTube, or guarantee that Facebook will show a playable preview. The original video's YouTube privacy setting and your Facebook post audience are separate decisions. Check both if you expect another person to watch it.

Copy the YouTube video link on a phone

In the YouTube app on Android, iPhone, or iPad, open the video you want to share. Tap Share below the player, then choose Copy link. YouTube's mobile sharing instructions also let you choose another app from the sharing options. The apps shown can depend on the device and its setup, so the copy-link choice is useful when Facebook does not appear or opens the wrong destination.

Switch to the Facebook app and start a new post on the profile or other surface where you intend to share. Paste the link into the post text. Add one sentence of your own if it helps readers understand why you are sharing it, such as which section of a tutorial answers their question. Before publishing, look at the identity and destination shown by Facebook: a personal profile, a Page you manage, and a group are different audiences.

If your YouTube app offers a Facebook option in its Share menu, you may use it. Review the Facebook composer that opens before you publish. Do not assume a particular icon position, that the correct account will be selected, or that the post has been published just because you tapped the icon. If you are unsure where the shortcut will send the video, cancel it and use Copy link in a post you start yourself.

Copy the link on a computer

On youtube.com, open the video and click Share under the player. Click Copy in the sharing panel. YouTube's desktop sharing guide also documents social-network icons, including Facebook, but copying the link gives you a chance to choose the right Facebook account and post location yourself.

Open Facebook in another tab, start a post, and paste the copied address. On a personal profile, Meta's posting instructions show the audience selector near the top of the composer; choose the intended audience before clicking Post. Facebook's menu names and available choices can vary by account, device, and destination. Read the setting currently displayed instead of assuming your last post's audience will apply.

YouTube's desktop Share panel offers a Start at option if you want your link to begin at a specific moment. Set the time before copying the link, and test the resulting URL before you post it. The linked video remains the creator's full YouTube video; a start time simply helps a viewer reach the relevant section. On mobile, the available time-link control may look different, so use YouTube's current Share menu if you need that detail.

Choose the right Facebook destination and audience

For a personal profile post, use the audience selector in the Facebook composer. A restricted Facebook audience limits who can see your Facebook post; it does not make a public YouTube video private. Conversely, choosing Public on Facebook does not give the public access to a private YouTube video. These controls operate on different services.

For a Facebook Page, make sure you are using a Page you are authorized to manage and that the composer identifies that Page. Meta's Page access guidance distinguishes people who can create Page content from people with other tasks or permissions. If you cannot publish from a Page, check your access rather than trying to post under another person's identity. Page posts generally serve a public-facing audience, so treat the link and your added text as public unless Facebook clearly shows otherwise.

For a group, open that group and use its own post composer if you are allowed to post there. The group's membership and approval rules matter: Meta documents that some public groups can require participant approval, and administrators can manage available post formats. A link that you posted to your profile has not automatically appeared in the group. Read the group rules and check whether your post is awaiting approval before submitting it again.

If you want to send the link to one person, use an appropriate message instead of a Feed post. This may be a better fit for a personal recommendation or an unlisted YouTube link. Make sure the recipient is the intended person and that the YouTube video's visibility allows them to watch. Avoid posting a link to a private or sensitive video in a public place just to test whether it opens.

Check whether viewers can open the YouTube video

YouTube distinguishes public, unlisted, and private videos in its visibility guide. A public video can be shared with anyone using YouTube. An unlisted video can be viewed and reshared by anyone with its link, so a Facebook post can expose that link to everyone who can see the post. Unlisted means it is generally absent from YouTube search and the channel's public video tab; it does not mean the link is confidential.

A private video is different. YouTube says only the owner and selected people can view it, and private sharing is managed inside YouTube Studio. Pasting a private video's address into Facebook does not grant access to your Facebook audience. If the video is yours, choose the appropriate YouTube visibility setting deliberately; if it belongs to someone else, ask the owner for access or a shareable version. Do not download and reupload someone else's content as a workaround for a privacy setting.

Even a visible link may stop working later if the video owner changes its visibility or removes it. If someone says the Facebook post opens but the video will not play, test the YouTube link directly while signed out or ask a permitted viewer to check it. A missing thumbnail is a different symptom from a video that the viewer cannot access. Diagnose access first; the appearance of a Facebook preview cannot override YouTube's viewing rules.

What about the thumbnail or video preview?

Facebook may show a link preview while you compose the post, but its appearance and controls are not guaranteed for every link, account, or interface. Check what Facebook actually displays before publishing. If the link remains visible as text, it can still be useful; ask yourself whether the address and your caption make the destination clear. Do not remove the only clickable link based on an assumed preview card.

The old instruction to click a small X to remove a preview is too specific to treat as universal. A control shown on one version of Facebook may be absent in another. If a preview looks wrong, reopen the YouTube link and confirm you copied the intended video, then start a fresh post if needed. A preview is a presentation of the link, not an additional copy of the YouTube file. Its presence does not establish that every reader can watch the video or that Facebook will distribute the post widely.

Keep the text around the link honest and specific. Identify the point you found useful, or say if the video is your own. Avoid saying that the clip is “on Facebook” when you have posted only a YouTube link.

Sharing a link is not embedding or uploading

YouTube's Embed option supplies HTML for a website or blog, as its embedding guide explains. Facebook's ordinary post composer is not a website HTML editor. For a Facebook post, copy the video's link; do not paste YouTube's iframe code into the post and expect an embedded player to appear.

Uploading a downloaded video file to Facebook is also a different action. It creates a new Facebook-hosted copy and may require rights you do not have. Sharing the original YouTube link keeps the viewer connected to the creator's YouTube upload and its access settings. When you want to recommend somebody else's video, a direct link is the clearer starting point.

The simplest final check is four steps: open the right YouTube video, copy its link, choose the right Facebook destination and audience, and test whether the intended viewers can access the video. Publish only after reviewing the post as it appears in the composer. That is more reliable than assuming a particular share-sheet icon, thumbnail, or reach outcome will be available.