YouTube has set itself apart as a social networking giant by constantly improving user experience through new features. One of the amazing features the social network site offers is the ability to share videos with your friends or the public.
When sharing YouTube videos on Your Facebook wall, you simply need to copy the video link and paste it on your status. From here, Facebook will automatically display the video title, description, and thumbnail.

However, from time to time, this procedure might not be as smooth as you expect. In some cases, the video title and description will appear, but the thumbnails will not – instead, you will get the annoying broken thumbnail icon.
The result of this is that your shared video will not be viewable from your timeline; Instead, other users will need to go directly to YouTube to view the video.
What causes YouTube thumbnails not to show on Facebook?
Broken thumbnails issue when sharing YouTube videos on Facebook can be caused by a number of reasons. Top among them include a bug problem, which is the most common cause.
Other causes include video (YouTube), Facebook, and browser settings, incompatibility problems, an outdated browser, insufficient cache memory, cookies problems, and others.
Fortunately, it is possible to fix the thumbnail issue, thus allowing you to share your favorite videos with your friends.
Below is a look at some of the top solutions that will help you easily fix this annoying issue.
- Clear browser cache
- Clear cookies
- Use the Facebook debugger tool
- Disable browser add-ons
- Update your browser
- Enable embedding feature on YouTube
- Enable thumbnails on Facebook
- Turn on YouTube Preview on Facebook
- Use YouTube Sharing Button
Solution #1: Clear browser cache
Caching is a great way of improving the online user experience by saving data temporarily on your device when you open a web page.
Examples of data that is cached include images and thumbnails. Therefore, when you are sharing (or viewing) YouTube videos on Facebook, the thumbnail file will be stored in your browser cache.
Unfortunately, if your browser cache is full, the thumbnails might fail to appear on Facebook. However, this problem can be easily fixed by clearing the browser cache.
Solution #2: Clearing Cookies
Cookies are small packets of data sent from a web server to a web browser and stored in the computer. Cookies help to better user experience by remembering info about sites you have visited (forms, images, login data, etc.).
However, cookies can sometimes cause a problem. For example, when some of them become deleted or corrupted – which is what may be causing your thumbnails not to show.
Therefore, if you are experiencing broken YouTube thumbnails on Facebook, clearing your browser’s cookies and restarting the browser can help to fix the problem.
Solution #3: Use the Facebook debugger tool
Bug problem is another main reason why YouTube thumbnails might not be showing on Facebook. Fortunately for you, the bug problem can be fixed easily using the Facebook debugger tool.
To use the tool:
- Log in to your Facebook account.
- Go to developers.facebook.com/tools/debug in another tab.
- Copy and paste the link for the YouTube video in the Debugger link box and click on the “Debug” button. The tool will display the video information that has been cached by Facebook servers, which includes the thumbnail, video link, title, and description.
- If the thumbnail does not appear, click on the “Scrape Again” button. This will refresh the cached information, and in most cases, fix the thumbnail issue.
Solution #4: Disable Browser Add-ons
Add-ons are great features that can help to improve your online experience by increasing the functionality of the browser, blocking unwanted content, downloading or capturing images and videos, etc.
However, since add-ons are third-party applications, they can cause incompatibility problems, making some features not work.
For example, some add-ons can such as ad-blockers can block unwanted and even wanted content. This can cause some videos, images, and thumbnails not to show.
If YouTube thumbnails are not showing on Facebook, disabling some of your add-ons, especially ads related ones can help to fix the issue.
It might also be a good idea to disable (even if it is temporarily) any add-ons that you think might have caused the problems (add-ons that you installed just before the thumbnail issue started).
Solution #5: Update your browser
An outdated browser can cause a host of problems, especially when it comes to images and videos. If you are experiencing a YouTube thumbnail issue on Facebook or any other site, it is a good idea to check if your browser is up to date.
If it is not, update it to the latest version and then try watching or sharing the YouTube video again.
Solution #6: Enable the embedding feature on YouTube
If YouTube thumbnails are not showing on Facebook when sharing a video link, the problem might be coming from the disabled “embedding function” on YouTube.
To fix the issue, go to the location of the YouTube video you want to share and enable the embedding feature.
It is, however, important to note that this will only work if the video you are sharing belongs to you. If it is from another user, they have to enable the embedding function themselves for the thumbnails and preview to work.
Solution #7: Enable thumbnails on Facebook
When sharing a video link on YouTube, the social networking site allows you to edit the settings of the shared video.
If you disable thumbnails when sharing the video, they will not show once you post the video link. To fix the problem, ensure you have deselected the “no thumbnails” option before sharing your video.
Solution #8: Enable YouTube preview on Facebook
Another reason why YouTube thumbnails might not be showing on Facebook is if you have disabled previewing.
Doing this not only prevents previewing the video on the timeline but also disables the thumbnail image.
To fix the problem, simply enable previewing option, which will allow you to preview the video, as well as view the thumbnail.
Solution #9: Use the YouTube sharing button
Sometimes, the broken thumbnail problem on YouTube can be a result of a problem when posting the video link to your Facebook timeline.
If this is the case, trying to share the video directly from YouTube using the “Facebook Sharing” button can help fix the issue.
Simply open the video you want to share on YouTube, click on the “Share” icon, and then select the “Facebook” icon. This will allow you to share the video directly to your timeline.
YouTube thumbnails not appearing on Facebook can be frustrating both when sharing a video or attempting to view a shared video. Fortunately, with the above solutions, you can be able to fix the thumbnail issue.
And if you have done it, enjoy a stress-free sharing and viewing of YouTube videos on your timeline.