How to Delete a YouTube Video (Or Hide It Instead)

Deleting a video sounds simple, and in YouTube Studio it's quick. The part that deserves a pause is that it's permanent. I see small business owners wipe an old video because it looks dated, then find out later that a customer, a client or an email link was still pointing at it. So before the steps, it's worth knowing there are gentler options. Everything here follows YouTube's help pages, and I'll flag the questions the help centre doesn't answer.

Delete a YouTube video forever from YouTube Studio

YouTube's help article gives these steps on a computer:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. Select Content in the left menu.
3. Hover over the video and open its Options menu, the three dots.
4. Choose Delete forever.
5. Tick the box to confirm you understand the deletion.
6. Select Delete forever again.

There's also a bulk option if you're clearing out several videos in one go, which the help page links to. Take your time with that one, because it's easy to select the wrong row.

What you lose when you delete a YouTube video

The help article is blunt: the video is permanently deleted, so keep a backup if you may want it later. A few other things it says:

• Once deletion starts, the video is no longer searchable on YouTube.
• The video's watch time stays in your aggregate reports, but it's no longer attributed to the deleted video.
• You can't replace a video with a new file. A fresh upload gets a new web address, which means anything pointing at the old one will no longer lead to it.

The help page doesn't say what happens to the comments, views, playlists or subscribers tied to a deleted video, and it doesn't say whether YouTube can recover one. So I won't pretend to know. Treat it as gone.

Can you undo or restore a deleted YouTube video?

The page describing deletion doesn't offer a restore option, and it calls the deletion permanent. My advice is to work on the basis that there's no undo button. If you uploaded the original file from your own computer or phone, that file is your safety net. YouTube also has a help article on downloading videos you've uploaded, which is worth using before you delete anything you might miss.

Don't delete the YouTube video: change who can see it

This is the option I'd choose for most old videos. YouTube's visibility settings let you keep the video but take it off public view. In Studio, go to Content, find the video, click the arrows under Visibility and choose one of three options:

Visibility	Who can watch	In search and on your channel?
Public	Anyone	Yes
Unlisted	Anyone with the link	No, unless it's added to a public playlist
Private	Only you and people you choose	No

The help centre adds that private videos can't be commented on, while unlisted ones can. If you'd like the full picture, I've written about what unlisted means on YouTube, including who can still find those videos. For a video you want to keep for your own records, private is the safest choice.

Fix or trim a YouTube video instead of deleting it

Sometimes the only issue is one bad minute or an outdated title. According to YouTube's help, instead of replacing a video you can trim the beginning, middle or end on a computer, add info cards, or change the title, description, category and privacy. My guide to editing YouTube videos in Studio shows the trim tools, and changing a thumbnail after publishing covers the other thing people usually want to fix.

A decision check before you delete a YouTube video

Run through these questions first:

• Do you have the original file saved somewhere? If not, download it first.
• Have you shared this video in emails, on your website or in a proposal? Deleting it will break those.
• Is the video simply old, rather than wrong? Unlisted or private keeps it without the embarrassment.
• Is there a problem with the video itself, such as a mistake? Trimming might fix it.

Delete a YouTube video on your phone

The help article I've relied on describes the computer steps. For the phone, YouTube's help doesn't give me a confirmed walk-through to share, so menus vary by app version. If you're away from your computer, the safest quick fix is to change the video to private in the app and finish the job in Studio later.

Download a copy of your YouTube video before you delete it

YouTube's help has a separate article for this. In Studio, select Content, choose the video, open its menu and pick Download. It gives you the video as an MP4 file in 720p or 360p depending on the video's size. There are limits worth knowing: you can't download a video that's been removed from YouTube or has a copyright or Community Guidelines strike, and an individual video can be downloaded up to five times in 24 hours. To grab everything you've uploaded in one go, the help points to Google Takeout. Doing this first takes five minutes and could save you a lot of regret.

Delete a whole channel rather than a single video

If you're thinking bigger than one video, deleting a channel is a separate process with its own warnings. I've explained your choices in my guide to deleting a YouTube channel or hiding it instead.

Frequently asked questions

How do I delete a YouTube video?

In YouTube Studio, select Content, hover over the video, open Options, choose Delete forever, tick the confirmation box and select Delete forever again.

Is deleting a YouTube video permanent?

YouTube's help page describes the deletion as permanent and doesn't offer a restore option, so keep a backup of anything you might want.

Can I hide a YouTube video without deleting it?

Yes. In Studio, change its visibility to private or unlisted. Neither appears on your channel or in search.

Can I replace a YouTube video with a new file?

No. YouTube's help says a new upload gets a new web address. You can trim the video or change its details instead.

What happens to watch time when I delete a video?

According to the help page, watch time stays in aggregate reports but is no longer attributed to the deleted video.