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What’s changing?
At Instructure, we believe educational technology should amplify teaching, not add complexity. That is why we are excited to announce a new integration between Canvas Studio and YouTube’s Player for Education. This offers educators a unique, distraction free, education focused video experience built for privacy, security, and accessibility.
Why?
Video has become an essential part of modern learning. In 2023 alone, over 8 million YouTube videos were embedded in Canvas courses, and usage continues to grow. Yet many educators and institutions face a challenge: how to use YouTube effectively without exposing students to advertisements, tracking, or unrelated content.
With this new integration, Canvas Studio addresses those concerns directly.
YouTube videos in Canvas Studio will stream:
- without distractions, recommendations, or links back to YouTube.
- with viewers remaining anonymous to YouTube through a “signed-out” viewing state.
- with captioning from YouTube to maintain accessibility.
This allows students to stay focused on learning with a distraction free, learner focused video experience.
Institutions that previously restricted YouTube access can now bring valuable video content into their curriculum while maintaining privacy and compliance.
What to Expect
This integration is available at no additional cost to all Canvas Studio customers. If you are already using Canvas Studio, we encourage you to migrate any YouTube links embedded in Canvas over to Canvas Studio to take full advantage of the benefits. We have created a step-by-step instructional guide to help you get started quickly and are maintaining FAQs. Additionally, we’re developing a new tool to help streamline the migration of YouTube videos to Canvas Studio. This automated solution will work at the course level and save educators time. We’ll be launching an early adopter program for this migration tool soon—if you're interested in testing this feature, please fill out this form.
If you are not yet using Canvas Studio, the YouTube videos embedded in your Canvas courses may begin to display ads starting September 22, 2025. We encourage you to explore Canvas Studio’s capabilities, including:
- Simplified video creation and sharing
- Support for student-created video submissions and feedback
- Real-time insights into learner engagement
- A secure and distraction free YouTube viewing experience
Full Rollout Expected by September 2025
The Player for Education integration is expected to be fully rolled out by early September 2025. We are working closely with our partners to ensure a smooth experience for all users.
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