How to Remove Background Noise from YouTube Shorts

Yes. If you have the original video file, you can reduce unwanted background noise before publishing your Short. This is useful when you've already recorded a video and don't want to recreate the footage just because the audio isn't clean.

However, adjusting the volume and removing background noise are two different things. Lowering the volume makes everything quieter, including your voice. Noise reduction attempts to separate unwanted sounds from the speech you want to preserve.

YouTube offers several audio-editing options, but they aren't all available in the same editor. The standard Shorts editor includes controls for adjusting audio levels and adding voiceovers. The separate YouTube Create application also offers Audio Cleanup.

If you want to clean your original video without building a larger editing workflow, upload the file directly to Noisero, listen to a cleaned preview, and process the complete recording.

The simplest approach is to clean the original recording before uploading it to YouTube.

1. 1

   Find your original video. Locate the original recording on your phone or computer. Whenever possible, use the original MP4 or MOV rather than downloading an already published and compressed copy.

2. 2

   Upload the video to Noisero. Open Noisero and upload your video. You can start with a free preview without creating an account. There's no need to extract the audio track manually.

3. 3

   Listen to the cleaned preview. Noisero processes a short section of the recording. Compare the original audio with the cleaned version and check whether distracting sounds are reduced while your voice remains natural.

4. 4

   Process the complete video. If you're satisfied with the preview, create an account or sign in and process the entire recording.

5. 5

   Download your cleaned video. Download the processed file from your account. Watch the complete video and listen to the audio before publishing.

6. 6

   Upload your video to YouTube Shorts. Import the cleaned video into YouTube Shorts and finish editing. Add captions, music, or other elements using YouTube's creation tools.

Noisero processes the audio while keeping the video's picture intact. You don't need to rebuild the video simply to reduce unwanted noise.

For a more general explanation, see our guide to removing background noise from video online.

The standard YouTube Shorts editor provides several useful audio controls. You can adjust the volume of your original video, add music, and record a voiceover.

However, changing volume isn't the same as removing background noise. If your microphone captured a loud air conditioner behind your voice, reducing the original audio volume makes the air conditioner quieter, but it also makes your voice quieter.

Adding background music can sometimes make unwanted sounds less noticeable, but it doesn't remove the noise from the original recording.

For actual noise reduction, use an appropriate audio-cleanup tool before publishing or consider YouTube Create if the application is available on your device.

The distinction matters most for videos built around speech. Tutorials, personal stories, educational Shorts, and talking-head videos depend on clear narration. Simply turning down the original audio usually isn't a suitable solution.

YouTube Create is a separate video-editing application from YouTube. It includes an Audio Cleanup feature designed to reduce unwanted noise and enhance recorded speech.

If YouTube Create is available in your country and supported on your device, you can try its built-in cleanup feature before choosing another tool.

1. 1

   Open YouTube Create. Launch YouTube Create and open an existing editing project or import your recorded video.

2. 2

   Select the audio layer. Choose the audio layer you want to improve. The application's editing toolbar displays the available audio controls.

3. 3

   Find Audio Cleanup. Select Audio Cleanup to reduce unwanted noise and improve recorded speech.

4. 4

   Listen to the result. Play the processed recording. Pay attention to both the remaining background noise and the natural quality of your voice.

5. 5

   Continue editing or export. If the result is satisfactory, finish your video using YouTube Create and publish it through the available workflow.

YouTube Create isn't available on every device or in every country. If you can't access it, you can still clean your original recording using a separate browser-based tool.

You can also compare different cleanup methods on the same original recording. Results depend on the type and intensity of the background noise.

Different recording environments create different kinds of unwanted sound. Some are easier to reduce than others.

• Wind noise: Outdoor Shorts frequently capture wind hitting the microphone. Moderate wind noise can sometimes be reduced, although severe gusts may distort the original recording.
• Traffic noise: Cars, road noise, and general street ambience can interfere with spoken videos recorded outdoors.
• Fan and air conditioner noise: Continuous background sounds from fans, ventilation, and air conditioning are common in indoor recordings.
• Microphone hiss: A persistent high-frequency hiss can become especially noticeable during pauses between spoken sentences.
• Room ambience: Indoor recordings may contain a mixture of ventilation noise, distant environmental sounds, and room reflections.

Continuous background noise is often easier to reduce than sudden sounds that overlap heavily with speech. Extremely loud wind, clipping, and overlapping voices can be difficult to repair completely.

For specific problems, explore our guides to removing wind noise from video, removing traffic noise, and removing fan noise.

Clear speech matters especially when the viewer needs to understand your explanation, story, or instructions. Several common types of YouTube Shorts can benefit from cleaning the original recording.

• Talking-head Shorts: Reduce distracting background sound when speaking directly to the camera at home, in an office, or outdoors.
• Educational Shorts: Clean recorded explanations, lessons, and demonstrations so viewers can follow the narration more comfortably.
• Travel Shorts: Reduce wind, traffic, and environmental noise captured during outdoor recording.
• Product demonstrations: Clean spoken explanations recorded alongside product footage.
• Tutorials and screen recordings: Improve narration recorded using a computer microphone or in an imperfect home recording environment.

The most important factor is the role of the original audio. If your Short depends on understandable speech, removing unwanted background noise can make the recording easier to follow.

For related workflows, see cleaning voiceovers, removing noise from iPhone videos, and cleaning screen recordings.

The goal of audio cleanup isn't necessarily to eliminate every trace of environmental sound. It's to reduce distracting noise while keeping your voice understandable and natural.

Aggressive audio processing can sometimes make speech sound metallic, watery, or robotic. This is especially likely when the background noise is extremely loud or the original recording contains distortion.

• Use the original recording whenever possible.
• Avoid processing an already heavily enhanced recording multiple times.
• Compare the cleaned result with the original rather than evaluating it in isolation.
• Listen through headphones to identify unnatural processing artifacts.
• Keep the original video until you've checked the complete processed result.

A little natural background ambience is often preferable to heavily processed speech. Use the free preview to decide whether the cleanup is suitable for your actual recording.

If your original video has serious audio problems, read our guide to cleaning low-quality audio.

If your YouTube Short includes spoken narration, it's generally easier to clean the original recording before adding music, sound effects, or additional audio layers.

When everything is mixed into one audio track, a noise-removal tool has to distinguish the unwanted background from both the voice and the music you want to preserve.

A simpler workflow is to clean the original spoken recording first, check the result, and then add music using your preferred editor or YouTube's creation tools.

Using copyright-protected music outside YouTube's creation tools can result in copyright claims or removal requests. Always ensure you have the necessary rights to the music you're adding.

If you already have a finished video containing music, you can still test a cleaned preview. However, listen carefully to make sure the processing hasn't removed or damaged audio you intended to keep.