YouTube came out on 23 April 2005, when the first video, Me at the Zoo, was uploaded and the company launched a public beta. YouTube had been founded on 14 February 2005 by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim and Steve Chen. It left beta in December 2005, and Google announced it had bought YouTube on 9 October 2006.
Last checked October 2026.
YouTube is where many of us learn to cook, fix a leaky tap or understand a new piece of software, so it's easy to forget it started as a small website run by three people. The question of when it came out has more than one fair answer, because YouTube was founded, registered, opened as a beta and then left beta at different points. I've pulled the dates from Wikipedia's articles on YouTube, Me at the Zoo and YouTube Shorts, so you can see where each one comes from.
If you run a channel for your business, the history also explains why Shorts and long videos now sit side by side, and why search matters so much on YouTube.
YouTube's founding in February 2005
YouTube was founded on 14 February 2005 by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim and Steve Chen. Wikipedia's YouTube article says the company registered the www.youtube.com domain in February 2005 too, though it doesn't give an exact day for the registration.
If you enjoy comparing app birthdays, my guide to the year Snapchat launched shows how much later the photo-and-video messaging apps arrived.
Me at the Zoo: the first YouTube video
The first YouTube video went up on 23 April 2005. It's called Me at the Zoo, and Wikipedia's article on it records the upload at 8:31:52 p.m. Pacific time. The clip shows co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of two elephants at San Diego Zoo, and it was filmed by his high school friend Yakov Lapitsky.
Wikipedia's YouTube article says the company launched a public beta the same day. So 23 April 2005 is the best single answer if you want to know when YouTube first came out to the public.
YouTube leaves beta and Google steps in
The site exited beta in December 2005. Wikipedia doesn't give an exact day for that, so December 2005 is as precise as I can be from the source.
Less than a year later, on 9 October 2006, Google announced it had bought YouTube, and the deal was finalised on 13 November 2006. YouTube kept its own name and site, and it's been part of Google ever since. That's why your YouTube channel is tied to a Google account today.
YouTube dates from founding to Shorts
Every row below comes from Wikipedia's YouTube, Me at the Zoo or YouTube Shorts articles.
| Date | YouTube milestone |
|---|---|
| 14 February 2005 | YouTube is founded by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim and Steve Chen |
| February 2005 | The www.youtube.com domain is registered |
| 23 April 2005 | Me at the Zoo is uploaded and a public beta launches |
| December 2005 | YouTube exits beta |
| 9 October 2006 | Google announces it's buying YouTube |
| 13 November 2006 | Google's purchase of YouTube is finalised |
| 12 November 2014 | Music Key, the subscription that later became YouTube Premium, is announced |
| 28 October 2015 | The subscription relaunches as YouTube Red |
| 15 September 2020 | The YouTube Shorts beta opens in India |
| March 2021 | The Shorts beta reaches the US |
| July 2021 | Shorts is released worldwide |
| September 2024 | YouTube says Shorts can be up to three minutes long |
YouTube Shorts and subscriptions: how the site changed
For most of its life, YouTube was about longer, horizontal videos. Shorts changed that. Wikipedia's YouTube Shorts article says the Shorts beta opened in India on 15 September 2020, reached the US in March 2021 and was released worldwide in July 2021. The article gives two different days in July, so I've kept to the month.
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Shorts were limited to 60 seconds at first. In September 2024, YouTube said Shorts could be up to three minutes long, which gives creators more room for quick tutorials and tips. If you post Shorts for your business, treat them as trailers for your longer videos: quick, useful and pointing viewers towards the full answer on your channel. It's a simple habit that links the two formats together.
YouTube also added a subscription option. Wikipedia says it was announced on 12 November 2014 as Music Key and relaunched as YouTube Red on 28 October 2015, before later becoming YouTube Premium.
What YouTube's history means for your channel now
YouTube has had two decades to grow from one zoo clip into a huge search engine for video. Here's what I'd take from that as a small business:
- Treat YouTube as search. People come with questions. Title videos with the words they'd type, and answer the question early.
- Mix Shorts with longer videos. Shorts can bring new viewers in; longer videos give them a reason to stay and subscribe.
- Keep your channel name steady. Changing it can confuse viewers, so read my guide to renaming a YouTube channel without losing subscribers before you do.
- Be realistic about growth. Very few channels hit the biggest milestones, and my look at how many channels reach a million subscribers puts that in context.
- Remember the Google link. Your channel sits on a Google account, so protect it with two-step sign-in.
Me at the Zoo is short, plain and unpolished, and it's where the whole site began. That's a good reminder that you don't need a studio to start a channel. You need something useful to say and the habit of posting.
Frequently asked questions
What was the first YouTube video?
The first video, Me at the Zoo, went up on 23 April 2005 and shows co-founder Jawed Karim at San Diego Zoo. It was filmed by his high school friend Yakov Lapitsky.
When was YouTube founded?
YouTube was founded on 14 February 2005 by Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim and Steve Chen.
When did Google buy YouTube?
Google announced it had bought YouTube on 9 October 2006, and the deal was finalised on 13 November 2006.
When did YouTube Shorts come out?
The Shorts beta opened in India on 15 September 2020, reached the US in March 2021 and was released worldwide in July 2021.
When did YouTube leave beta?
YouTube exited beta in December 2005, about eight months after the public beta launched on 23 April 2005.
