How to Share an Interactive YouTube Video

An interactive YouTube video has two different URLs: the original source on YouTube and the published viewer experience on Interakly. Share the Interakly link when you want viewers to receive the timestamped questions, cards, access settings, and response workflow you authored.

The sharing process is straightforward: preview the saved experience, choose access, publish, copy the viewer link, and test that link from the audience's point of view before sending it.

What link should you share?

After publication, the editor exposes a viewer URL in the forminterakly.com/v/<share-code>. That stable route loads the published Interakly experience. Sending the YouTube URL instead bypasses the separate interaction layer entirely.

Before you publish

Publication is a product state, not just a copy-link action. Interakly validates the saved experience and can block publication when required interaction content or authored media timing is invalid. Fix the reported issue and preview again rather than treating the warning as optional.

• Finish and save every interaction you intend viewers to receive.
• Approach each timestamp through normal playback, not only by scrubbing.
• Check question, feedback, skip, and continuation behavior.
• Confirm the source still permits embedded playback.
• Decide whether the audience needs an access gate.

Step 1: Preview the saved experience

Preview the complete learner path before publishing. YouTube-compatible questions and cards should appear as overlays on top of the embedded video at the intended moments. The rail below the video is timeline and transport chrome, not a separate question panel.

A creator preview is useful for authoring, but the final check should also include the published viewer route. Access gates, intro or resume surfaces, and the surrounding player experience can affect what a recipient sees.

Step 2: Choose who should have access

Publishing and public discovery are separate decisions. A published video can remain unlisted, be eligible for Explore, or use a restrictive access mode. Choose the least complicated option that still fits the audience.

Settings also provide sign-in and email-based controls. These can change the viewer's entry path, so test the exact combination you configure. Do not tell recipients that no account or verification is required unless that is true for your current settings.

Step 3: Publish the interactive video

In the editor toolbar, select Publish. Interakly checks the saved experience before changing its publish state. If publication is blocked, use the reported problems to locate incomplete or invalid content.

An anonymous creation may also require a verification step when that protection is enabled. Publication is complete only after the editor shows the published state; do not distribute a draft URL as though it were ready.

Step 4: Copy the viewer link

Once published, use the toolbar's share-link control to copy the/v/ viewer URL. The same share area also exposes embed code, but embedding is a different delivery workflow with host sizing and domain considerations. Use the dedicated embed guide for that job.

Step 5: Test the link as a viewer

Step 6: Send the link with useful context

The link answers where to go, but not why. Include a short instruction that tells recipients what the experience is, what action is expected, and any access information they need.

This is a communication template, not a claim about universal viewer requirements. Remove the deadline or access sentence when it does not apply.

What happens after you share?

The viewer URL continues to identify the Interakly experience while it is published. Saved edits to a published experience can affect what subsequent viewers receive, so preview again after meaningful changes. Unpublishing removes public viewer access until you publish it again.

The YouTube source remains an external dependency. If its owner removes it, makes it private, restricts it, or disables embedded playback, the Interakly link cannot make that source playable.

A reusable sharing checklist

FAQ

Should I share the YouTube URL or the Interakly link?

Share the Interakly viewer link. The original YouTube URL opens the source video without the separate Interakly interaction timeline, access settings, and response workflow.

Does publishing change the original YouTube video?

No. YouTube continues to host and play the source through its embedded player. Interakly publishes a separate viewer experience containing the interaction timeline and settings.

Does everyone with the link need an Interakly account?

Not necessarily. Viewer access depends on the settings you choose. An ordinary unlisted experience can be opened by people with the link, while sign-in, email, password, or invite requirements can add gates.

Can people find an unlisted interactive video on Explore?

No. A published video is unlisted by default unless it is eligible and you enable Show on Explore. Password-protected, invite-only, and live videos are not eligible for Explore listing.

What happens if the YouTube source becomes unavailable?

The Interakly viewer depends on YouTube continuing to serve the source through its embedded player. Removal, privacy changes, restrictions, or disabled embedding can stop playback even though the Interakly viewer link still exists.