How to Edit Uploaded YouTube Videos Without Losing Views

There are times where you’ve uploaded a YouTube video and racked a small number of views, only to find you’ve made a glaring mistake. If you fix the issue on your computer and then upload a new video, you’ll lose the views your YouTube post has made.

But does it really have to be that way? Luckily, you could make minor video fixes right on the video hosting platform. Here’s what you can do to fix minor video errors without losing the view count.

Cutting Out Errors in YouTube Videos

YouTube doesn’t want creators to make significant changes to videos they’ve already uploaded, especially if it already has views. That’s because uploading a new video that will replace an existing one while keeping the previous video’s properties can mislead viewers and YouTube’s algorithm.

Nevertheless, the platform knows that creators sometimes make minor honest mistakes, or someone featured in the uploaded video may demand that they be removed from it. So, to grant that, creators can cut out scenes from their video without resetting a video’s metrics.

How to Trim the Start or End of a YouTube Video

You first have to sign in to your YouTube Studio account to edit your video. Then, follow these simple instructions:

1. Once you’re on the Channel Dashboard, click on Content in the left menu.
2. You’ll see all the videos you’ve uploaded on the Channel content page. Click on the thumbnail of the video you want to edit.
3. Now, you’ll see the Video details page. Choose Editor from the left pane.
4. You’ll now access the Video editor window. Here, click on Trim, and a blue box will then appear in the timeline section of the window.
5. Drag both ends of the blue box to cut out sections of the start or end of your video—only the part of your video inside the box will remain uploaded.
6. Once you’re happy with the trim, click on Preview at the bottom of the screen to see what the final edited video will look like.

To confirm the changes you made, click on Save at the upper right-hand corner, right above your video’s preview window.

How to Trim a Section of Your YouTube Video

If you want to remove the middle part of your video, the procedure is almost similar. Here’s what you need to do:

1. First, click on Trim. A blue box will appear again in the timeline section of the window.
2. Now, instead of dragging the ends of the box, click at the beginning of the section you want to remove in the timeline.
3. Alternatively, you can scroll your mouse at the time stamps right above the blue box or insert the exact seconds and frame number right in the Timestamp field beside the Trim button.
4. Once you’re sure of the starting point of your cut, click on Split at the bottom of the screen.
5. A blue bar should appear right at the spot where you set the start of the trim. Drag the bar to the desired end of the section you want to cut.

Now, just like before, click on Preview to watch the final result and then click on Save to update your changes on YouTube.

How to Undo Trims in YouTube Studio

When you want to undo the trims you’ve made at the start or end of your video, simply drag the blue box to its previous position. But if you want to remove the trim you’ve made in the middle of the video, you need to click on the X marker right above the section you’re about to discard.

If you want to undo all changes you made, click on Clear All at the bottom of the screen. Or, if you’ve already hit Preview, choose Discard Changes instead of Save. You can also hit the three-dots icon beside Save and click on Revert to original to cancel all unsaved changes.

Related: Things You Can Do With YouTube Studio

Blurring Parts of Your YouTube Video

In case someone reaches out to you and wants to be removed from your video, but they’re in a crucial section that you can’t change, then you can blur their face or parts of your video instead. To do so, you’ll need to select the video like before and access the Video editor section in YouTube Studio.

Blurring Faces Automatically in YouTube Studio

Click on Blur parts of your video in the timeline section, then choose Face blur. YouTube will then automatically process your video, looking for unique faces. Once the process is complete, you can pick the face you want to blur and click Apply.

You can change the time frame the blur effect applies by manually changing its start and end timestamps. You can also manually adjust its size so that the blur fits exactly over the face you want to hide.

Once you’re satisfied with the effect, click on Save. But if you want to remove the blur effect instead, click on the Trash icon right beside the timestamps, or choose Discard changes to cancel all effects.

Applying Manual Blur to Your YouTube Video

Sometimes, YouTube may fail to detect the face you want to blur automatically, or you may want to blur a non-face item (like a vehicle plate number). In such cases, you’ll have to do it yourself. This is slightly tricky, so follow the steps carefully:

1. Click on Blur parts of your video from the timeline, but choose Custom blur this time.
2. You should see Custom blur options right beside the video preview window. You can pick between two blur shapes: Rectangle or Oval. Select your preferred shape.
3. You can also choose between two blur behaviors: Track object or Fix blur position. Track object automatically adjusts the blur to follow the item you blocked, while fix blur position keeps the blurred area static throughout. Decide what you want to move on to the next step.
4. Now, adjust the blur position in the video preview window to cover what you want to hide.
5. If necessary, add additional blurred sections by clicking and dragging on the parts you wish to block. You can also change its duration by altering its start and end timestamp.

Once you’re satisfied with the placement of your custom blur, click on Save. Otherwise, click on the Trash icon to remove the blur effect.

Limitations to Post-Upload Editing on YouTube

While you can add blur effects to your videos anytime, all other effects have limitations. Once your videos reach over 100,000 views, you cannot save changes you make to them. However, this restriction does not apply if you’re a part of the YouTube Partner Program.

Make Adjustments Without Losing YouTube Views

YouTube Studio is a nifty tool for keeping track of your videos, playlists, and more. You can even track how your channel and each video perform through analytics.

And although the YouTube Editor is a pretty basic tool compared to other video editing software, the ability to make minor changes to your video after you upload is a lifesaver for many creators.