Clean LinksSanitize YouTube links before you paste them. YouTube's Share button appends si — a per-share source identifier Google can trace back to the account that sent it and stitch to the rest of your Google identity. The video plays fine without it. Clean Links removes si and keeps your timestamp.
Before and After
Tracked link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&si=Example&feature=shared&t=43
Clean link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&t=43
Removed
YouTube share links carry `si`, the source identifier, plus `feature` tags that tell Google which share button or surface produced the click. That turns a simple video URL into another measurement hook for one of the largest ad platforms on the web.
Pin the web cleaner as a progressive web app on Chrome, Edge, and Android, or install the iPhone, iPad, and Mac app for on-device cleaning, Share Sheet actions, Safari extension, QR scanning, and Shortcuts.
Add Clean Links to your Home Screen
Open your browser menu and choose Install Clean Links or Add to Home Screen.
si and noisy feature parametersgclid and UTMs from ad clickst=) so your time cues still worksi - account-linked share identifier injected by the share buttonfeature - discovery source (for example: share, youtu.be, embed)gclid and UTMs - ad and campaign identifiers sometimes added by links in descriptionst - timestamp for deep linking; this is preserved by Clean LinksMany trackers appear after redirects or are added by wrappers. Manual trimming misses those and can break timestamps. Clean Links follows redirects, preserves `t=`, and cleans the final URL.
No. The video URL is the same without the tracking.
`si` is YouTube's source identifier — a per-share ID the Share button adds to the URL. It tells Google which account and surface a share came from. Remove it and the video plays exactly the same.
Sanitizing a YouTube link means stripping the tracking baggage — `si`, `feature`, and any UTM or `gclid` tags — while the video ID, playlist, and `t=` timestamp stay put. Paste a link above and Clean Links does exactly that.
Yes. Clean Links preserves `t=` so your time cues open at the right moment.
Cleaning removes tracking parameters. It does not block viewing, likes, or subscriptions.
The Apple app cleans YouTube links on-device. The web cleaner currently sends the link to the Clean Links API because the full rule engine is too large to ship to every browser right now. We do not log, store, or tie those requests to an account, and shortlinks are still resolved in an isolated, cookie-free context with a randomized user agent.
The cleaning rules are the same, but the Apple app has more system hooks: Share Sheet cleaning, Safari extension support, QR scanning, Shortcuts, Siri, and Mac clipboard tools. The web cleaner focuses on paste-and-clean in your browser today, and a browser-native WASM version is in progress.
Need to clean a link from any other site? Try the free link cleaner
Paste any link to strip trackers and unwrap short links. Works in any browser with no account; recent-link history stays in this browser.
Clean links from the Share Sheet on iPhone and iPad, plus the Mac app. No account or link history; redirect checks run from your device when network access is enabled.
Why we built Clean Links
Someone close to us scanned a QR code on a parking meter, typed in their card details, and lost the money before they realized anything was off. A sticker had covered the real code, and the link behind it went somewhere else. We're two engineers in the EU who've spent years building privacy-first apps, and that was the push. We wanted a fast way to see where a link or QR code really goes before you tap it, and to strip the trackers off the ones we share. Clean Links now covers both cases: the Apple apps scan and clean on your device, and the web cleaner lets you check a link in the browser without an account. It's free, and we'd rather earn a spot on your home screen than sell you out.
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