The YouTube hack that saves your exact spot on your Mac
A tiny trick that turns any YouTube link into a bookmark - right where it matters.
Hi!
I love watching tips and tricks on YouTube , whether it’s about Apple, my passion for camping, or cooking videos.
Every video that catches my interest ends up in Apple Notes — even if I only need 30 seconds of it for a future newsletter. For a long time, this used to frustrate me. I’d save a video, come back to it months later, and have no idea where the interesting part was.
That meant watching the whole thing again, or scrubbing through it and hoping to land in the right spot.
That’s changed. These days I use a small trick I stumbled upon by accident.
YouTube remembers exactly where you were
If you’re watching a YouTube video in any browser on your Mac, a simple right-click directly on the video is all it takes.
A context menu appears with the option: “Copy video URL at current time.”
There’s a second way too — via the Share button below the video. A small window opens, and at the bottom you’ll find a checkbox labeled “Start at.” Check it, and YouTube automatically fills in the current timestamp. You can then copy the link or share it directly.
That’s it.
The saved link will start the video exactly at the spot where you found something interesting. You can drop it into Apple Notes, Reminders, or wherever you collect your ideas.
I use this trick mainly for Apple research. But the more I think about it, there are probably plenty of moments in your day where this comes in handy too.
That long tutorial you want to pick up next week — but definitely not from the beginning.
The cooking video where the dough at minute 4 should look exactly like yours does right now.
The interview where someone says exactly the one sentence you want to show your colleague.
Or that 3-hour Chill Out Vibes video you already made it 1:34 hours into.
Every time, you’ll be glad the video picks up right where it matters.
See you next week with another iProductivity hack to simplify your digital life! 🚀
Until then, feel free to check out my work on Medium, Substack, and Gumroad.
Georg