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YouTube Data Viewer

See exactly when any video went public, down to the second, and reverse search its thumbnails.

Works with any video, Short or live stream link.

How to Check a YouTube Video

  1. Paste the link

    Copy the video's address from YouTube and paste it above. Watch pages, youtu.be links, Shorts and live links all work.

  2. Read the exact time

    The big date is when the video went public, in UTC. For a live stream it is when the stream started. Under it you see the same moment in your own time, and the date YouTube itself shows.

  3. Search the thumbnails

    Pick a search engine and press Search under any picture. A match from before the upload can mean the footage came from somewhere else.

What the Facts Tell You

  • The earliest upload usually wins. When copies of a clip spread, compare exact times to find the first one.
  • The channel ID never changes. Names and handles can change, but the ID starting with UC stays the same, so record it.
  • Thumbnails travel. The same picture on older pages suggests the footage existed before this upload.
  • Views and length are a snapshot. They are what YouTube showed at the time in the Read from YouTube row.

Replacing Amnesty's YouTube DataViewer

Amnesty International's YouTube DataViewer helped journalists and researchers check videos for years. Its address, citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org, no longer opens.

This page runs the same checks for free: the exact upload time in UTC and reverse image search on the thumbnails. CollabPals is not connected to Amnesty International.

Frequently asked questions

What journalists and researchers ask most about checking videos.

What does this YouTube Data Viewer show?

It shows the exact moment a video went public, in UTC and in your own time. It also shows the channel ID, length, views and thumbnails, with one tap to reverse search each one.

What happened to Amnesty's YouTube DataViewer?

Amnesty International ran a free YouTube DataViewer at citizenevidence.amnestyusa.org. That address no longer opens. This page runs the same checks for free. CollabPals is not connected to Amnesty International.

Why does the exact upload time matter?

When the same footage appears on several channels, the earliest upload is usually closest to the source. Comparing exact times, down to the second, shows which copy came first.

Why is the date different from the one YouTube shows?

YouTube shows dates in US Pacific time. A video posted late in the Pacific evening already falls on the next day in UTC. We show both, so you can compare them.

What is the difference between published and uploaded?

YouTube reports two times: when the video was uploaded and when it was published. For most videos they match. When they differ, we show both, exactly as YouTube reports them.

How do I reverse search a video's thumbnail?

Pick a search engine, then press Search under any picture. The engine opens with that picture loaded. Older copies of the same image can point to where the footage first appeared.

Does it work with Shorts and live streams?

Yes. Paste a Shorts link the same way as any other video. For a live stream we also show when it started and ended, whenever YouTube shares those times.

Do I need an API key or an account?

No. There is no sign-up and no API key. Paste a link and the facts appear in a few seconds.

Can it read private or deleted videos?

No. It only reads what YouTube shows the public, so a private or deleted video returns nothing.

Is this YouTube Data Viewer free in 2026?

Yes, it is completely free. CollabPals makes free tools for YouTube creators, journalists and researchers. Updated for 2026.

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