How to Rediscover the Past: Watching Youtube’s Lost Footage

How to Watch Deleted YouTube Videos Online in 2 Ways | Ultimate Guide

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

YouTube features a wide variety of corporate and user-generated content ranging from music to DIY videos. Along with all this massive inflow, there are scenarios where the video content that you like or wanted to watch gets deleted for any reason. Either the uploading channel deleted the video, or YouTube sometimes deletes videos for violating any of the platform’s rules – showing the dismal message “We’re sorry, this video is no longer available”. You’ll be thinking it is probably impossible to access deleted YouTube videos that you wanted to watch so badly. Though it may be true to some extent, in reality, nothing gets deleted from the internet. To help you watch deleted YouTube videos, we’ll dive into the two most handy methods down below. So, let get started.

You might be interested in How to Make a Playlist of Uploaded Videos and Others’ Video on YouTube>>>

• Part 1: Watch Deleted YouTube Videos with a URL
• Part 2: Watch Deleted YouTube Videos without a URL
• Part 3: Bonus Tip—Make Your Own YouTube Video with Wondershare FilmoraX

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Part 1: Watch Deleted YouTube Videos with a URL

Internet Archive(known as the Wayback Machine) is a website archival system that has been collecting and cataloging websites since 1996. This means the system has effectively saved the site’s current layout and data. This enormous world archive of the Web’s past has amassed over 100 terabytes of storage with around 10 billion web pages.

On the archive.org website, you can find many of your favorite web site’s “snapshot” at a time in the past. For our case, we need to find and watch deleted YouTube videos, so for that, all we need is the link of the video, and we can most probably find it on archive.org. The steps for finding and restoring deleted YouTube videos are simple and as follows.

1. First of all, find the URL in your YouTube email, channel account if you’re searching for your uploaded video. You can find the link in browser history, in YouTube history, or you may have shared the link on social media.

If you want to watch a deleted YouTube video using the Wayback Machine, you must find the link to the video you want to access; without the URL, you won’t be able to access the deleted YouTube video.

2. Head over to the archive.org website and paste the YouTube video URL in the search bar and press return.

3. Once you find your video on the internet archive, you can see the details of the video.

4. You won’t be able to play the video directly, but you should be able to download it. Right, click the video to find the option to download the video.

This method works mostly as the Wayback machine is pretty active and regularly crawls the web to archive the sites. But sometimes, this method may not work and would require a more sophisticated way to watch deleted YouTube videos.

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Part 2: Watch Deleted YouTube Videos without a URL

But what if you don’t have a URL for the deleted YouTube video? The internet is a global village network. Everything on the internet is connected, and that connection makes it more useful for example, even though a YouTube video might be deleted, you can somehow access and watch the deleted YouTube videos without a URL because people always replicate videos and share them on other YouTube channels or social media platforms. To make sure you get to watch your favorite YouTube video again, we will dive into the vast internet and find the deleted YouTube videos.

This method can be a bit complicated and would require you to give full attention to find the video you want to watch that badly that you’ve landed on this article.

1. Open a new tab in your browser and go to the Google search bar. We’re going to employ a technique from the SEO expert’s toolbox – Google Search Operators.

2. In the search bar, type “site:www.youtube.com + name Of TheVideo”

3. This way Google will crawl all the name relevant videos only from the YouTube databases and move us closer to finding our deleted YouTube video.

4. If you know the video was shared by someone on Facebook or any other social media platform, you can change the site URL in the search bar, replacing YouTube with Facebook, for example.

5. Once you find the video URL, you can simply go back to the first method that we discussed and paste the URL into the internet archive. The archive will give you the video and you can enjoy watching a deleted YouTube video.

Note: If you still cannot find the video using this method, I’m sorry to tell you the video may be completely deleted from the server, and you cannot access it anymore.

Part 3: Bonus Tip—Make Your Own YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

Want to make a YouTube video again? Wondershare Filmora is a relatively lightweight and powerful platform you get an intuitive interface and the power to create wonderful, unique content. To help you make your own YouTube video with Filmora, we’ll go through a short introduction of the flow and features first:

• Organize media with folders and projects
• Cutting and trimming raw footage
• Unlimited Layering
• Visual effects and filters
• Attach/detach audio and music
• Add creative text and icons with a wide range of templates to choose from
• Advanced color correction tools
• Export videos to YouTube directly and support various output formats

Make a YouTube video with several clicks using Wondershare Filmora:

1. Download and install Wondershare Filmora on your computer by tapping the download wizard below. Remember to join the Wondershare Video Community to connect with other video creators.

2. Launch Wondershare Filmora, add your videos to the Media Library. And you’ll also be greeted with a sleek and simple interface with controls for everything such as transitions, titles, layering clips, soundtrack, and more.

3. Add your video to the timeline, then go to the Titles tab, and you will see hundreds of titles and text templates. Select the template you love and add it to the video.

4. Then you can also go to the Effects tab and apply astonishing filters to the video

5. Once you’re done, you can click Export and upload your video to YouTube directly.

The free version will have a watermark on the exported video.

There’s nothing more delightful than to put your skills to work and save time by using Filmora. The time you save can be put into making more content and editing videos to boast of your creativity to friends.

Conclusion

YouTube has immersed so much in our day-to-day life that on average a mobile viewing session lasts more than 40 mins. To satiate our thirst for video content, YouTube has become the sole free platform. But even if your favorite song or movie gets deleted, you don’t have to worry as I’ve compiled the best solution to watch deleted YouTube videos and even be able to restore deleted YouTube videos to relish watching them with your friends and family. Leave your comments below if you love this article.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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Speedy Tutorial: Crafting YouTube Image Thumbnails From Scratch

There is a saying that first impressions last, and this is proven true, especially when it comes to YouTube video viewership. For sure, you have experienced watching a video out of curiosity because of its thumbnail. That is why content creators take time to resize YouTube thumbnails or use a YouTube thumbnail size converter to customize the preview images that represent their videos.

This technique not only attract viewers to watch your video, but it also gives a glimpse of your content. In this article, we will provide you with a quick tutorial on how to resize a YouTube thumbnail and suggest handy tools you can use to create the perfect YouTube video thumbnail!

Best YouTube Thumbnail Size

According to YouTube’s help center, there are some things to remember when creating a thumbnail for your YouTube videos.

• First, make sure that the thumbnail size is 1280 pixels by 720 pixels and 640 pixels wide. It is the best YouTube thumbnail size.
• When it comes to the thumbnail dimension, make sure to use an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• Also, your YouTube thumbnail image should not exceed 2MB and is in either JPG, GIF or PNG format.

How To Resize Your YouTube Thumbnail

The primary reason for changing the YouTube thumbnail size is to gain more audience. If you are a content creator, your main goal is to introduce your content to a wider range of viewers, right? So you have to pay attention to even the smallest detail, such as YouTube thumbnails to increase viewership and top YouTube SEO.

In fact, YouTube recommends this technique to get more viewers. Also, resizing your YouTube thumbnail will prevent you from getting the “file larger than 2MB error” which can cause your thumbnail to be discarded.

So, how can you use this technique? Check our tutorial below as we walk you through various recommended methods for resizing a YouTube thumbnail:

Method 1: Resize YouTube Thumbnail With Windows Default App

The easiest way to resize YouTube thumbnails is through the Windows default app. Within just a few modifications, you can resize your thumbnail to fit as a preview image for your YouTube video.

Please take note that your image should be at least 2 megabytes or less to achieve the perfect YouTube thumbnail fit. If your image exceeds the limit, your thumbnail will either be rejected, or your image will have a black screen around it-which is not ideal at all.

Now, let us start the tutorial.

Step1 Open an image you want to set as a thumbnail. Then, Right-click> Resize.

Step2 Select “Define custom dimensions.”

Step3 Set the width to 1280 and the height to 720. Then tick the box for “Maintain Aspect Ratio “and click “Save Resized Copy.”

Step4 Click the upload thumbnail button on YouTube and import your resized image.

Method 2. Online YouTube Thumbnail Size Converter

The second method you can use is the online YouTube thumbnail size converter. As it completely works in browsers, you do not need to worry about any app installation to access the feature. Furthermore, using online YouTube thumbnail size converters ensures you maintain your image resolution and prevents it from getting blurry or pixelated.

There are various YouTube thumbnail resizers available online. Some of the most popular are Fotor, Super Image Converter, Pixelied, Super Image Converter , Adobe Express , Newisty, and Promo . Let us focus on the last online tool and the steps on how to use it.

Promo is a free online software you can use to convert an image to a YouTube thumbnail. It is one of the best YouTube Thumbnail tools as it uses simple operation steps and automatically resizes your image without losing its quality.

Here are the steps on how to use the Promo YouTube thumbnail size converter:

Step1 Go to Promo’s official website and import your image

Step2 Scroll down and find the YouTube thumbnail size where your resized image is displayed. Then, click “Download.”

Method 3: Convert the Image to YouTube Thumbnail Using Wondershare Filmora

It is without a doubt that online YouTube thumbnail resizers are great tools for converting your image to an ideal YouTube thumbnail. But it would be much better if you resize your video using the same app you use for editing. That way, you will save time using two separate apps, and your task will be much more efficient using an all-in-one video editing tool.

Wondershare Filmora , one of the most well-known software for creating high-quality and compelling videos, combines these functions in one app. Filmora is not just an excellent software for crafting YouTube videos but also a reliable tool you can use in creating and resizing YouTube thumbnails.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Here is the step-by-step tutorial on how to use Filmora in resizing your YouTube thumbnail. It is divided into two parts:

1. Take a Snapshot as the Thumbnail with Filmora

Step1 Open the video in the timeline, click the play icon in the player window, and pause when you reach the desired frame for the YouTube thumbnail. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot.

Step2 In the snapshot window, choose to save the snapshot as a PNG or JPG file.

Step3 Select the output storage location and click OK.

2. Resize the YouTube Thumbnail

Step1 Import the image into the app timeline.

Step2 Drag and drop the image into the timeline and click the green “Export“ button. In the popup Export window, select GIF. Next, click “Settings“ to adjust the resolution.

Step3 As the recommended size of a YouTube Thumbnail is 1280 * 720 pixels, you can set the resolution to 1280 * 720. Then click Apply and Export the GIF. You can now upload the GIF thumbnail to your YouTube account.

Method 4. Convert Images to YouTube Thumbnail Using Third-Party Software

In addition to using dedicated video editing software, several third-party image editing programs can be used to resize images for use as YouTube thumbnails. Programs like GIMP are popular for this purpose, as it offers a wide range of tools and features for editing and resizing images.

This program allows you to import an image, resize it to the dimensions required for a YouTube thumbnail (typically 1280 x 720 pixels), and save the edited version to your desired location. Using an image editing program can be a good option if you need more control over the appearance of your thumbnail or if you want to make more extensive edits beyond simply resizing the image.

To resize an image using an image editing program like GIMP, follow these steps:

Step1 Install and launch GIMP on your computer.

Step2 Click on “File“ > “Open,” then search for the file you want to resize.

Step3 Click on “Image“ > “Scale Image“ and make sure that the resolution is 1920 by 1080.

Step4 Click on “File“ > “Export As“ and toggle the “Select File Type (By Extension)“ option. Choose JPG/JPEG format because it can compress the thumbnail enough to stay within the limit of 2 megabytes.

Step5 You can change the quality of the image and click the “Export“ button to save the thumbnail.

Comparison of These 4 YouTube Thumbnail Resizing Methods

Now that we’ve explored the four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails, it’s time to compare the pros and cons of each method. In this section, we’ll consider factors such as ease of use, speed, quality, cost, and compatibility to help you determine the best option for your needs.

Take a look at the table below for a more detailed comparison.

| | Windows Default App | Online YouTube Thumbnail Size Converter | Wondershare Filmora | Third-Party Software | |
| ————————————————– | ——————————————- | ———————– | ———————— | ——– |
| Other Software Required or Not | No | Yes (Internet Browser) | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Connection Required | No | Yes | No | No |
| Complexity of Operations | Easy | Easy | Easy | Moderate |
| Support Other Editing of the YouTube Thumbnail | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| File Size Limit | None | 25MB | None | None |

Resizing YouTube thumbnails using the Windows default app is a quick and easy method that requires no additional software or tools. However, the quality of the resized thumbnail may improve if the original image is low resolution, and this method is only suitable for users on Windows operating systems.

Online YouTube thumbnail size converters are convenient and easy to use, and they can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. They also typically preserve the quality of the original image. However, some online converters may have size limits or require a subscription to unlock all features, and using an online converter can be slower than using a dedicated software tool.

Using Wondershare Filmora allows you to create and edit YouTube thumbnails within a single application, which can be a time-saving advantage if you’re already using Filmora for other video editing tasks. However, Filmora is a paid software, so there is a cost associated with using it, and it may have a steeper learning curve for users new to video editing.

Image editing programs like GIMP offer many features and tools for customizing your thumbnail, including adding text, applying filters, and making more extensive edits beyond simply resizing the image. They also typically offer more control over the quality and appearance of the resized thumbnail.

However, using a third-party image editing program may require a learning curve and maybe more time-consuming than other methods, and there may be a cost associated with purchasing the software.

Each of the four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails has its pros and cons, and the best method will depend on the user’s specific needs and preferences.

Conclusion

This article explored four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails: using the Windows default app, online converters, Wondershare Filmora, and image editing programs like GIMP. Each method has advantages and disadvantages; the best one depends on your specific needs and preferences. No matter your chosen method, you can resize YouTube thumbnails confidently with these tools and techniques.

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Here is the step-by-step tutorial on how to use Filmora in resizing your YouTube thumbnail. It is divided into two parts:

1. Take a Snapshot as the Thumbnail with Filmora

Step1 Open the video in the timeline, click the play icon in the player window, and pause when you reach the desired frame for the YouTube thumbnail. Click the camera icon to take a snapshot.

Step2 In the snapshot window, choose to save the snapshot as a PNG or JPG file.

Step3 Select the output storage location and click OK.

2. Resize the YouTube Thumbnail

Step1 Import the image into the app timeline.

Step2 Drag and drop the image into the timeline and click the green “Export“ button. In the popup Export window, select GIF. Next, click “Settings“ to adjust the resolution.

Step3 As the recommended size of a YouTube Thumbnail is 1280 * 720 pixels, you can set the resolution to 1280 * 720. Then click Apply and Export the GIF. You can now upload the GIF thumbnail to your YouTube account.

Method 4. Convert Images to YouTube Thumbnail Using Third-Party Software

In addition to using dedicated video editing software, several third-party image editing programs can be used to resize images for use as YouTube thumbnails. Programs like GIMP are popular for this purpose, as it offers a wide range of tools and features for editing and resizing images.

This program allows you to import an image, resize it to the dimensions required for a YouTube thumbnail (typically 1280 x 720 pixels), and save the edited version to your desired location. Using an image editing program can be a good option if you need more control over the appearance of your thumbnail or if you want to make more extensive edits beyond simply resizing the image.

To resize an image using an image editing program like GIMP, follow these steps:

Step1 Install and launch GIMP on your computer.

Step2 Click on “File“ > “Open,” then search for the file you want to resize.

Step3 Click on “Image“ > “Scale Image“ and make sure that the resolution is 1920 by 1080.

Step4 Click on “File“ > “Export As“ and toggle the “Select File Type (By Extension)“ option. Choose JPG/JPEG format because it can compress the thumbnail enough to stay within the limit of 2 megabytes.

Step5 You can change the quality of the image and click the “Export“ button to save the thumbnail.

Comparison of These 4 YouTube Thumbnail Resizing Methods

Now that we’ve explored the four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails, it’s time to compare the pros and cons of each method. In this section, we’ll consider factors such as ease of use, speed, quality, cost, and compatibility to help you determine the best option for your needs.

Take a look at the table below for a more detailed comparison.

| | Windows Default App | Online YouTube Thumbnail Size Converter | Wondershare Filmora | Third-Party Software | |
| ————————————————– | ——————————————- | ———————– | ———————— | ——– |
| Other Software Required or Not | No | Yes (Internet Browser) | Yes | Yes |
| Internet Connection Required | No | Yes | No | No |
| Complexity of Operations | Easy | Easy | Easy | Moderate |
| Support Other Editing of the YouTube Thumbnail | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| File Size Limit | None | 25MB | None | None |

Resizing YouTube thumbnails using the Windows default app is a quick and easy method that requires no additional software or tools. However, the quality of the resized thumbnail may improve if the original image is low resolution, and this method is only suitable for users on Windows operating systems.

Online YouTube thumbnail size converters are convenient and easy to use, and they can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. They also typically preserve the quality of the original image. However, some online converters may have size limits or require a subscription to unlock all features, and using an online converter can be slower than using a dedicated software tool.

Using Wondershare Filmora allows you to create and edit YouTube thumbnails within a single application, which can be a time-saving advantage if you’re already using Filmora for other video editing tasks. However, Filmora is a paid software, so there is a cost associated with using it, and it may have a steeper learning curve for users new to video editing.

Image editing programs like GIMP offer many features and tools for customizing your thumbnail, including adding text, applying filters, and making more extensive edits beyond simply resizing the image. They also typically offer more control over the quality and appearance of the resized thumbnail.

However, using a third-party image editing program may require a learning curve and maybe more time-consuming than other methods, and there may be a cost associated with purchasing the software.

Each of the four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails has its pros and cons, and the best method will depend on the user’s specific needs and preferences.

Conclusion

This article explored four methods for resizing YouTube thumbnails: using the Windows default app, online converters, Wondershare Filmora, and image editing programs like GIMP. Each method has advantages and disadvantages; the best one depends on your specific needs and preferences. No matter your chosen method, you can resize YouTube thumbnails confidently with these tools and techniques.