# YouTube Shorts Sponsorship Signals Scraper (`devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals`) Actor
Detect brand-deal signals in a YouTube channel's recent Shorts โ spoken sponsor mentions in the transcript, disclosure hashtags, @brand/domain mentions โ and score each Short's sponsorship likelihood (0.0โ1.0).
- **URL**: https://apify.com/devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals.md
- **Developed by:** [DevilScrapes](https://apify.com/devilscrapes) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
Pay per usage
This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## How to integrate an Actor?
If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md):
```bash
npm install apify-client
```
In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md):
```bash
pip install apify-client
```
In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):
````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash
In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md).
If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## YouTube Shorts Sponsorship Signals Scraper
**๐ฐ $4.00 / 1 000 results** ยท pay only for results ยท no credit card to try
_We do the dirty work so your dataset stays clean._ ๐
Point this Actor at any YouTube channel and it tells you which of their **Shorts** are brand deals โ reading the *spoken* transcript for sponsor mentions ("sponsored byโฆ", "use codeโฆ"), disclosure hashtags (`#ad`, `#sponsored`), and `@brand` / domain tags โ and hands back a transparent **0.0โ1.0 sponsorship score** per Short.
---
### ๐ฏ What this scrapes
Influencer-intel SaaS dashboards charge $200โ2 000/mo to tell agencies which creators run paid placements. This Actor surfaces the same signal from public data for a fraction of the cost. For every recent Short on a channel it pulls the title, view count, duration, tags, description, and โ crucially โ the **spoken transcript**, then scores how likely the Short is sponsored and lists the exact phrases that fired.
Shorts descriptions are mostly empty, so caption-only scrapers miss most deals. We read what the creator actually *says*, which is where Shorts sponsorships live.
### ๐ฅ What we handle for you
- ๐ก๏ธ **Browser fingerprint impersonation** โ `curl-cffi` mimics a real Chrome TLS + HTTP/2 handshake, so YouTube sees a browser, not a bot.
- ๐ช **Consent-gate handling** โ we send the consent cookie YouTube requires before it will list a channel's Shorts. Skip it and you get zero results; we don't skip it.
- ๐ฃ๏ธ **Transcript-first detection** โ spoken sponsor language is the primary signal, caught even when the description is blank.
- ๐ **Optional proxy rotation** via Apify Proxy โ datacenter is fine at low volume; residential scales it up.
- ๐งฑ **Graceful degradation** โ a Short with no captions still emits a row (`has_transcript: false`) instead of crashing the run.
- ๐ฐ **Pay-Per-Event pricing** โ you only pay for Shorts that land in your dataset.
### ๐ก Use cases
- **Influencer-agency intel** โ see which creators run brand deals and which brands keep coming back.
- **Competitive brand monitoring** โ track where a competitor's products show up across creators' Shorts.
- **Sponsorship benchmarking** โ measure how often a niche's top channels run paid placements.
- **Disclosure compliance audits** โ flag Shorts with spoken sponsorships but no `#ad` disclosure.
- **Creator vetting** โ gauge a channel's commercial density before signing a deal.
### โ๏ธ How to use it
1. Click **Try for free** at the top of the page.
2. Add one or more channel handles โ `@mkbhd`, `mkbhd`, or a full `youtube.com/@mkbhd` URL all work.
3. Click **Start**. Rows stream into the run's dataset as each Short is scored.
4. Export from **Storage โ Dataset** as JSON, CSV, or Excel โ or fetch via the API.
### ๐ฅ Input
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|:--:|---|---|
| `channels` | `array` | **yes** | `["@mkbhd"]` | Channel handles or URLs. Normalised to `@handle`. |
| `maxShortsPerChannel` | `integer` | no | `20` | 1โ200. How many recent Shorts to inspect per channel. |
| `language` | `string` | no | `"en"` | Preferred transcript language; falls back to any available track. |
| `minSponsorshipScore` | `number` | no | `0.0` | 0โ1. Only emit rows scoring โฅ this. Set `0.5` to keep only likely-sponsored Shorts. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | `object` | no | `{"useApifyProxy": false}` | Optional. Direct (no proxy) by default โ YouTube degrades the player and transcript endpoints for shared datacenter IPs. Enable residential proxy only if you hit rate limits at high volume. |
#### Example input
```json
{
"channels": ["@mkbhd"],
"maxShortsPerChannel": 20,
"language": "en",
"minSponsorshipScore": 0.0,
"proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false }
}
````
### ๐ค Output
Every row is one Short.
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| `channel` | `string` | Channel handle (`@handle`). |
| `video_id` | `string` | YouTube Short ID (11 chars). |
| `url` | `string` | Canonical Shorts URL. |
| `title` | `string` | Short title. |
| `published_text` | `['string','null']` | Human-readable publish text when available. |
| `view_count` | `['integer','null']` | Views at scrape time. |
| `length_seconds` | `['integer','null']` | Duration in seconds. |
| `description` | `string` | Short description (often empty for Shorts). |
| `tags` | `array` | Video keywords/tags. |
| `has_transcript` | `boolean` | True when a spoken transcript was retrieved. |
| `transcript_chars` | `integer` | Character length of the transcript. |
| `hashtags` | `array` | `#hashtags` found in description/transcript. |
| `mentions` | `array` | `@mentions` found in the description. |
| `detected_brands` | `array` | Brands inferred from mentions, domains, and tokens after `code`/`sponsored by`. |
| `sponsorship_signals` | `array` | The literal phrases/tokens that fired. |
| `sponsorship_score` | `number` | Heuristic sponsorship likelihood, 0.0โ1.0. |
| `is_likely_sponsored` | `boolean` | True when `sponsorship_score >= 0.5`. |
| `scraped_at` | `string` | ISO-8601 timestamp of the scrape. |
#### Example output
```json
{
"channel": "@mkbhd",
"video_id": "n3V3LZh_r40",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/n3V3LZh_r40",
"title": "My everyday carry, sponsored",
"published_text": null,
"view_count": 2805352,
"length_seconds": 58,
"description": "#ad",
"tags": ["tech", "edc"],
"has_transcript": true,
"transcript_chars": 712,
"hashtags": ["#ad"],
"mentions": [],
"detected_brands": ["Surfshark", "MARQUES"],
"sponsorship_signals": ["this video is sponsored", "use code", "#ad"],
"sponsorship_score": 1.0,
"is_likely_sponsored": true,
"scraped_at": "2026-06-13T10:00:00+00:00"
}
```
### ๐งฎ How the score works
A transparent weighted sum over `transcript + description + title`, clamped to `[0, 1]`:
| Signal | Examples | Weight |
|---|---|---:|
| Spoken **strong** | `sponsored by`, `this video is sponsored`, `for sponsoring`, `use code`, `promo code`, `paid partnership` | +0.5 each |
| Spoken **weak** | `check out`, `link in bio`, `link in description`, `discount`, `% off` | +0.15 each |
| Disclosure **hashtag** | `#ad`, `#sponsored`, `#spon`, `#partner`, `#partnership`, `#collab` | +0.4 each |
| `@mention` / brand **domain** | `@brand`, `brand.com` (in description) | +0.1 each |
A single strong spoken signal crosses the `0.5` threshold and marks the Short as likely sponsored. The fired phrases are returned in `sponsorship_signals` so you can audit every call.
### ๐ฐ Pricing
Pay-Per-Event โ you pay only when these events fire:
| Event | USD | What it is |
|---|---:|---|
| `actor-start` | $0.005 | One-off warm-up charge per run |
| `result` | $0.004 | Per Short written to the dataset |
Example: 1 000 Shorts โ **$4.00**. No subscription, no minimum, no card to start โ Apify gives every new account $5 of free credit.
### ๐ง Limitations
The score is a **heuristic**, not a legal determination โ treat `is_likely_sponsored` as a strong lead, not proof. Some Shorts (music-only, no narration) have no captions; those still emit a row with `has_transcript: false` and score only on description/hashtag signals. YouTube's official "Includes paid promotion" flag is not third-party accessible, so we infer from spoken + textual signals instead.
### โ FAQ
**Why transcripts instead of captions/descriptions?**
Because Shorts descriptions are almost always empty. The sponsorship lives in what the creator *says*, so we read the transcript first and treat description/hashtags as secondary signals.
**What handle formats are accepted?**
`@mkbhd`, `mkbhd`, `youtube.com/@mkbhd`, and full `https://โฆ/@mkbhd/shorts` URLs all normalise to `@mkbhd`.
**Do I need a proxy or API key?**
No. The data path is keyless and works without a proxy at low volume. Add a proxy if you're scanning many channels.
**Can I keep only the sponsored Shorts?**
Yes โ set `minSponsorshipScore` to `0.5` and only likely-sponsored Shorts are emitted (and billed).
### ๐ฌ Your feedback
Spotted a bug, hit a weird edge case, or need a new field? Open an
issue on the Actor's **Issues** tab on Apify Console โ we ship
fixes weekly and we read every report.
***
Built by **[Devil Scrapes](https://apify.com/DevilScrapes)** ๐ โ a small fleet of
opinionated public-data Actors. Honest pricing, real engineering, zero fine print.
# Actor input Schema
## `channels` (type: `array`):
One or more YouTube channel handles or URLs. Accepts @mkbhd, mkbhd, or https://youtube.com/@mkbhd โ all normalised to @handle.
## `maxShortsPerChannel` (type: `integer`):
Maximum number of Shorts to inspect per channel.
## `language` (type: `string`):
Preferred transcript language code (ISO-639-1). Falls back to any available track.
## `minSponsorshipScore` (type: `number`):
Only emit rows scoring at or above this value. 0 emits every Short; 0.5 keeps only likely-sponsored ones.
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Optional Apify Proxy configuration. Leave OFF (direct) by default โ YouTube degrades its player and transcript endpoints for the shared datacenter proxy pool. Enable Apify Proxy with a RESIDENTIAL group only if you hit rate limits at high volume.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"channels": [
"@mkbhd"
],
"maxShortsPerChannel": 20,
"language": "en",
"minSponsorshipScore": 0,
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
}
```
# Actor output Schema
## `datasetItems` (type: `string`):
All dataset items as JSON.
## `datasetItemsCsv` (type: `string`):
Same data exported to CSV.
## `datasetView` (type: `string`):
Open the run dataset in the Console.
# API
You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.
## JavaScript example
```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
"channels": [
"@mkbhd"
],
"maxShortsPerChannel": 20,
"language": "en",
"minSponsorshipScore": 0,
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals").call(input);
// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`๐พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
console.dir(item);
});
// ๐ Want to learn more ๐? Go to โ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs
```
## Python example
```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient
# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
"channels": ["@mkbhd"],
"maxShortsPerChannel": 20,
"language": "en",
"minSponsorshipScore": 0,
"proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals").call(run_input=run_input)
# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("๐พ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
print(item)
# ๐ Want to learn more ๐? Go to โ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start
```
## CLI example
```bash
echo '{
"channels": [
"@mkbhd"
],
"maxShortsPerChannel": 20,
"language": "en",
"minSponsorshipScore": 0,
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
}' |
apify call devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"mcp-remote",
"https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=devilscrapes/youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer "
]
}
}
}
```
## OpenAPI specification
```json
{
"openapi": "3.0.1",
"info": {
"title": "YouTube Shorts Sponsorship Signals Scraper",
"description": "Detect brand-deal signals in a YouTube channel's recent Shorts โ spoken sponsor mentions in the transcript, disclosure hashtags, @brand/domain mentions โ and score each Short's sponsorship likelihood (0.0โ1.0).",
"version": "0.2",
"x-build-id": "fj6cESgp95TBwML3G"
},
"servers": [
{
"url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
}
],
"paths": {
"/acts/devilscrapes~youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-devilscrapes-youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
},
"/acts/devilscrapes~youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals/runs": {
"post": {
"operationId": "runs-sync-devilscrapes-youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
}
}
}
}
}
}
},
"/acts/devilscrapes~youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals/run-sync": {
"post": {
"operationId": "run-sync-devilscrapes-youtube-shorts-sponsorship-signals",
"x-openai-isConsequential": false,
"summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
"tags": [
"Run Actor"
],
"requestBody": {
"required": true,
"content": {
"application/json": {
"schema": {
"$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
}
}
}
},
"parameters": [
{
"name": "token",
"in": "query",
"required": true,
"schema": {
"type": "string"
},
"description": "Enter your Apify token here"
}
],
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "OK"
}
}
}
}
},
"components": {
"schemas": {
"inputSchema": {
"type": "object",
"required": [
"channels"
],
"properties": {
"channels": {
"title": "Channels",
"type": "array",
"description": "One or more YouTube channel handles or URLs. Accepts @mkbhd, mkbhd, or https://youtube.com/@mkbhd โ all normalised to @handle.",
"default": [
"@mkbhd"
],
"items": {
"type": "string"
}
},
"maxShortsPerChannel": {
"title": "Max Shorts per channel",
"minimum": 1,
"maximum": 200,
"type": "integer",
"description": "Maximum number of Shorts to inspect per channel.",
"default": 20
},
"language": {
"title": "Transcript language",
"type": "string",
"description": "Preferred transcript language code (ISO-639-1). Falls back to any available track.",
"default": "en"
},
"minSponsorshipScore": {
"title": "Minimum sponsorship score",
"minimum": 0,
"maximum": 1,
"type": "number",
"description": "Only emit rows scoring at or above this value. 0 emits every Short; 0.5 keeps only likely-sponsored ones.",
"default": 0
},
"proxyConfiguration": {
"title": "Proxy configuration",
"type": "object",
"description": "Optional Apify Proxy configuration. Leave OFF (direct) by default โ YouTube degrades its player and transcript endpoints for the shared datacenter proxy pool. Enable Apify Proxy with a RESIDENTIAL group only if you hit rate limits at high volume.",
"default": {
"useApifyProxy": false
}
}
}
},
"runsResponseSchema": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"data": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"id": {
"type": "string"
},
"actId": {
"type": "string"
},
"userId": {
"type": "string"
},
"startedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"finishedAt": {
"type": "string",
"format": "date-time",
"example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
},
"status": {
"type": "string",
"example": "READY"
},
"meta": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"origin": {
"type": "string",
"example": "API"
},
"userAgent": {
"type": "string"
}
}
},
"stats": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"inputBodyLen": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2000
},
"rebootCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"restartCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"resurrectCount": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"computeUnits": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"options": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"build": {
"type": "string",
"example": "latest"
},
"timeoutSecs": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 300
},
"memoryMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1024
},
"diskMbytes": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 2048
}
}
},
"buildId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultDatasetId": {
"type": "string"
},
"defaultRequestQueueId": {
"type": "string"
},
"buildNumber": {
"type": "string",
"example": "1.0.0"
},
"containerUrl": {
"type": "string"
},
"usage": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 1
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
},
"usageTotalUsd": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"usageUsd": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATASET_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
"type": "number",
"example": 0.00005
},
"KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
},
"PROXY_SERPS": {
"type": "integer",
"example": 0
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
```