Scribbles: Copy current time video URL in Youtube mobile.

Scribble time again. One of the best features, for me, on youtube is the ‘Copy video URL at current time’. It helps me pinpoint a specific time in a video when I share the URL. It could be a comedy or a dialog or a song lyric or a feature explanation and I could link that specific time rather than sharing the whole video and then share the timestamp and ask them to seek to that particular time.

But, I use youtube largely on my phone and this feature is not available for mobile phones. Although you can do it manually, it seems to be a little complicate route which I wouldn’t take.

Where could it be?

Share sheet - This was the obvious placement in my head. Youtube uses a custom share-sheet for iOS and a default share sheet on Android. This could be an additional option added to the share sheets. I would need the URL when I’m trying to share a video - so I believe adding it under ‘Share’ will be relatable.

Quick action tray - This could be more discoverable and easier to access but how important is this feature for the users? I’m not sure if this makes sense to be prioritized outside the share sheet but that could be one more way to build this feature. Maybe with A/B testing, you can decide where this should live. Why? Lesser learning curve and better visibility.

‘Maybe’ - Quick actions tray should change based on user interaction and usage. It could be tailored based on how someone uses the product and show relevant information. If I’m someone who uses share with Whatsapp frequently - it makes more sense for me to see it in the quick action rather than the feature being inside the share sheet. Also with google’s pattern on Android, the Quick action section is horizontally scrollable to scale for more options. With that my most used actions will always be available at the finger tip.