Putting comments into Shorts: replies, top comments and masking names (October 2026)

In the YouTube app, go to the watch page of your Short or video, tap Reply on the comment, then tap the Shorts icon; the Shorts creation screen opens with the comment as a sticker. From the Shorts camera you can also tap More → Comments to pick a comment sticker. If you can’t answer right away, save the comment and pick it later from the comments list in the Shorts camera.

The commenter is notified, and your Short appears in the feed below their comment. Shorts that answer questions tend to invite more requests, which makes them a good way to collect ideas for your next videos.

The same scene lands differently when a comment like “I’ve rewatched this part so many times” appears with it; viewers pay closer attention, because someone else’s reaction signals that this is the moment to watch. Comments that express an opinion also make it easier for viewers to leave their own, agreeing or disagreeing.

Comments shouldn’t cover the video, though. Keep them low on the screen, away from key action and captions, and show one at a time. If comment text is too small or changes too fast it won’t be read, so let each one stay for a few seconds.

Comments are public, but their authors may not want their names appearing in someone else’s video, especially when you put a critical comment on screen. Partly masking the name keeps the reaction while reducing the burden on the person who wrote it.

Skip comments with profanity, personal information or attacks on a specific person, however many likes they have. A comment on screen becomes part of your video, so content that breaks YouTube’s Community Guidelines makes your video the problem.

Comments on your videos are a list of ideas for your next Shorts. Requests like “Explain this part in more detail” or “I want to see this player’s other games” become your next topic, and replying to that comment with a Short notifies the person who asked, giving you a first viewer.

YouTube’s comments view can filter by response status, such as unresponded comments, which makes it easy to find comments to answer. Heart or pin good comments; a pinned comment appears at the top of the comments on the video’s watch page.

If the same question keeps coming up, it can be your Short’s first line. Open with “I get asked this a lot in the comments,” and viewers who wondered the same thing will stay. When choosing comments to show or answer, leave out the following.

• Comments with profanity or hate speech
• Comments containing personal information like phone numbers or addresses
• Comments attacking a specific person
• Comments that spoil the ending for other viewers

Showing the source’s top comments suits videos many people watched and reacted to: game highlights, a viral performance, a scene from a variety show, where comments say “chills right here” or “lost count of how many times I’ve watched.” There, comments add to the fun.

Informational videos, or videos with hardly any comments, are cleaner without them. Comments unrelated to the scene or about old events can confuse viewers. Shortsmith lets you turn the comment overlay on or off per video.

Shorts with comments on screen tend to collect new comments too. Heart or pin good new reactions, and answer questions with your next Short to keep the conversation going.

The comment overlay is a supporting device. If comments become the star instead of the footage, viewers end up reading rather than watching. Let the scene speak, and let comments confirm the reaction once more.

Shortsmith takes the source video’s top YouTube comments by likes and shows them at the bottom of the screen, styled like real YouTube comments. Comments appear one by one from three seconds to the end; with fewer comments, each stays on screen longer. The source channel owner’s own comments are left out, and if comments are off on the source, the video is made without them. There’s no extra charge.

Turn on “Mask commenter names” and “CourtLover” shows as “Cou***.” Use it when revealing who wrote a comment might be uncomfortable.

• The first three seconds of a Short
• Turn a one-hour video into Shorts
• Shorts subtitles that get read