If you’ve been editing videos on YouTube for a while, you might remember the “Revert to Original” button in YouTube Studio’s editor. It was a lifesaver for creators who wanted to undo edits and go back to the unedited version of their video.
But if you’ve recently gone looking for it, you’ve probably noticed—it’s gone. Completely removed. The only thing you’ll find in the three-dot menu now is Keyboard Shortcuts, which is hardly helpful.
So, what happened? Why did YouTube remove such a useful feature, and what can you do now? Let’s break it down.
Why YouTube Removed the “Revert to Original” Button
According to YouTube, the feature was abused by some creators. While they haven’t gone into detail, this typically means a small portion of users found ways to exploit the function, and YouTube’s solution was to remove it entirely—affecting everyone.
This isn’t new behavior from YouTube. Instead of adding new features, they often remove existing ones. First, it was the public dislike counter, and now even technical features like reverting edits are disappearing.
Can You Get Your Original Video Back?
Unfortunately, once an edit is processed, there’s no way to revert the video to its original form. If you didn’t download the original before editing, your only option is to re-upload the video.
The problem with re-uploading:
The video will get a new URL
You will lose all likes, views, and comments
If you still have the original project in your video editor or the file saved on your computer, you can upload it again—but that’s the only workaround.
Editing Limitations and Autodub Issues
YouTube still allows stacked edits, like trimming a section first and later adding a blur for a face or license plate. But there are a few caveats:
Edits like trim or blur may be grayed out
This usually happens if your video has autodubbed audio tracks.
How to enable editing
Delete all additional audio tracks first.
Once they’re gone, editing options will become available.
Autodubs may or may not regenerate
In recent uploads (last ~2 weeks), autodubs came back after editing.
For older videos, they disappeared permanently after edits.
Final Thoughts
YouTube is still a powerful platform, but changes like these make it harder for creators. Removing the “Revert to Original” button instead of applying reasonable restrictions (like only allowing it on videos under 100K views) is frustrating for honest creators.
So, the key takeaway: Always back up your original videos before editing in YouTube Studio. Once you commit to an edit, there’s no going back.