YouTube Video Sponsors API
Scrape YouTube Video Sponsors data with one API call. Checks a YouTube video for the paid-promotion disclosure and infers likely sponsors/promoted brands from the public description, description links, promo-code text, and transcript. Experimental upstream: sponsor attribution is inferred, with per-sponsor confidence and evidence.
Last updated October 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns whether a video carries a paid-promotion disclosure plus the brands likely sponsoring it, each with supporting evidence and a confidence score.
Use it to spot sponsored videos and who paid; sponsors are inferred from the description, links, promo codes, and transcript, not stated by YouTube.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Video Sponsors API?
The Video Sponsors endpoint gives you structured YouTube data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/youtube/video/sponsors: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 60 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/sponsors?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAVO0ifle-OU" && cat response.json# GET /v1/youtube/video/sponsors: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/sponsors"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVO0ifle-OU",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/youtube/video/sponsors: 10 credits per call. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/youtube/video/sponsors");
url.searchParams.set("url", "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVO0ifle-OU");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| url | Yes | Full URL of the YouTube video or short |
| language | No | 2 letter language code used for transcript lookup, ie 'en', 'es', 'fr' etc. |
What does the YouTube Video Sponsors API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "youtube",
"endpoint": "/v1/youtube/video/sponsors",
"data": {
"video": {
"id": "AVO0ifle-OU",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVO0ifle-OU",
"title": "Why You Should Meal Prep Like A Restaurant",
"channel": {
"id": "UC3vQEjRhwgH2HAOBKwLjxNA",
"url": "https://www.youtube.com/@letsKWOOWK",
"handle": "letsKWOOWK",
"title": "KWOOWK",
"thumbnail": "https://yt3.ggpht.com/qmx-SPJT3bDScwd8KC4APZP82cpOoMN1b-kqdl5eASn8pub6jSBxWpq3OO88Wa1fQGWmPVpU=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj"
},
"isPaidPromotion": true
},
"suspectedSponsors": [
{
"name": "user_ef7c54",
"website": "betterhelp.com",
"confidence": "medium",
"evidence": [
{
"source": "description_link",
"text": "If you're struggling, consider therapy with our sponsor BetterHelp. Click https://betterhelp.com/KWOOWK for a 10% discount on your first month of therapy with a licensed professional specific to your needs. I bought way"
}
]
}
],
"sponsorDetection": {
"status": "found",
"methods": [
"paid promotion badge",
"description"
],
"transcriptChecked": false,
"transcriptAvailable": false,
"note": "Sponsors are inferred from public description, links, promo-code text, and transcript evidence."
}
},
"credits_used": 10,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-10-02T12:50:07.238Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the YouTube Video Sponsors API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I detect who sponsored a YouTube video?
What does the sponsors endpoint return per sponsor?
Is sponsor attribution guaranteed accurate?
How much does the sponsors endpoint cost?
Can I set the language for transcript-based detection?
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