# v= on YouTube — the video identifier

- Canonical: https://linkclean.app/trackers/v-youtube/
- Updated: 2026-07-22
- Author: Ken Tominaga (https://ken0nek.com)
- Get the app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/linkclean/id6758604043

Parameter: `v` · Category: Region & language (preserved) · Vendor: YouTube · functional — preserved

> `v=` on a YouTube URL is the **video identifier** — the unique 11-character base64 ID that names the specific video. Strip it and the URL doesn't resolve to any video at all. **Functional, not tracking.** Always preserved.

## What v= is

Every YouTube video has an 11-character identifier built from base64-url characters (e.g. `dQw4w9WgXcQ`). On the `www.youtube.com/watch` URL, that ID lives in the `v=` query parameter; on the shortener form `youtu.be/<id>`, it's the path itself.

Strip `v=` from a youtube.com/watch URL and you land on YouTube's home page instead of the video. It's the only mandatory part of a YouTube video URL.

## Why it's documented here

Because users sometimes ask. The naming confuses people — `v=` looks like a tracking parameter at first glance, but it's the most functional parameter on YouTube. LinkClean never strips it.

## Example

Example URL: `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=42s`

LinkClean preserves this parameter — no change.

## Frequently asked

**Why are YouTube video IDs 11 characters long?**

It's base64url over a fixed-width integer, designed to give YouTube a virtually inexhaustible namespace (~73 quintillion possible IDs) while staying short enough to type and share.

**Is youtu.be/<id> the same as youtube.com/watch?v=<id>?**

Yes — youtu.be is YouTube's URL shortener; the path after the slash IS the video ID, equivalent to `v=` on the longer form.

**Does LinkClean ever touch v=?**

Never. v= is the video ID — strip it and the URL doesn't resolve to a video.


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