How to See Your YouTube Comments (Yours and Your Viewers')

You left a brilliant comment on a video weeks ago, someone replied, and now you can't find it anywhere. Or you've posted advice under a competitor's tutorial and you'd like to check what you said. YouTube keeps a running record of your comments, and once you know where it lives, it's easy to scroll back through it.

There are really two questions hiding in this search: how to see the comments you've written, and how to see comments other people leave on your own videos. I'll answer both, using YouTube's help pages so the steps match what's on your screen.

Finding the comments you've written on YouTube

The feature is called Comment History. According to YouTube's help centre, it shows the public comments you've left across YouTube. The steps are the same idea on a computer and on your phone:

1. Sign in to the YouTube account you commented from.
2. Open Comment History. It sits alongside your other YouTube history, though menus vary by app version.
3. Scroll through the list of your comments.
4. Click or tap the content next to a comment to jump back to the place you posted it.

If you use more than one channel or Google Account, check you're signed in to the right one. Comment History only shows what that account wrote.

Comments that won't appear in your YouTube history

If a comment you remember isn't in the list, YouTube's help gives two reasons it might be missing:

• The video it was on has been deleted.
• YouTube removed the comment for a policy violation.

Comments can also disappear because someone else removed them. YouTube's help says comments can be removed by the person who posted them, by the channel owner, or for policy violations. So if a channel owner deleted your comment from their video, you won't see it there any more.

Editing or deleting your own YouTube comments

Comment History is also the quickest way to tidy up old comments. YouTube's help lists this route:

1. Open Comment History.
2. Click or tap the video link next to the comment.
3. Select More next to your comment.
4. Choose Edit to change it, or Delete to remove it.

There's also a delete icon right in Comment History for quick removals. If you're doing a big clear-out, my step-by-step on deleting YouTube comments has a few more tips.

Seeing replies to your YouTube comments

Because comments are public, anyone can reply to yours. YouTube's help says replies are threaded, which makes conversations easier to follow. To read them, jump from Comment History to the original video, then open the replies under your comment.

Seeing comments on your own YouTube videos as a creator

If you run a channel, the comments you care about most are the ones viewers leave for you. The YouTube Studio app gathers them in one place. YouTube's help describes it like this:

1. Open the YouTube Studio app.
2. Tap the Community icon in the bottom menu.
3. Tap View all to see all your comments.

By default you'll see published comments. The filter bar at the top lets you sort by published comments, subscriber count and response status. Under response status you can pick Unresponded, Responded and New replies to your response, which is brilliant for making sure no customer question slips through.

What you'd like to see	Where to look
Comments you wrote on any video	Comment History
Replies to your comments	The original video, via Comment History
Comments on your own videos	YouTube Studio, Community, View all
Comments you haven't answered yet	Studio filter: Unresponded

Why your old YouTube comments are worth a quick review

It's easy to forget that every comment you leave is public. YouTube's help says anyone can reply to a comment you post, and that means anyone can read it too, including clients, colleagues or a future employer who looks you up. If your channel name is also your business name, your comments are part of your brand whether you meant them to be or not.

I'd suggest scrolling through your Comment History every so often and asking a simple question of each one: would I be happy for a customer to see this? Edit anything that's out of date, delete anything you'd rather not stand behind, and leave the helpful ones in place. They're quietly working for you.

Using YouTube comments to look after customers

For small businesses, comments are often the first place a potential customer asks a question. I'd check the Unresponded filter a couple of times a week and reply to anything that sounds like a buying question. A friendly, quick answer under a video can do more than a polished advert.

If comments are getting out of hand on a particular video, you can also limit or switch them off. My guide to turning off comments on YouTube explains the settings.

If you can't see your YouTube comments

• Switch accounts. You may be signed in to a different channel or Google Account.
• Check the video still exists. Comments on deleted videos don't show in your history.
• Remember private videos. YouTube's help says comments aren't available on private videos, so a video switched to private won't show its comments to viewers.
• Update the YouTube app if menus don't match.

Still stuck? YouTube's help centre is the best place to ask, since its team can see details about your account that aren't visible to you.

I keep every related walkthrough in the YouTube Help: 30 Guides to Channels, Subscribers, Monetisation, Thumbnails and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I see my YouTube comments?

Open Comment History while signed in to the account you commented from. It lists the public comments you've left across YouTube, and you can click or tap the content to jump back to where you posted.

Why can't I find an old comment on YouTube?

YouTube's help says comments on deleted videos and comments removed for policy violations don't appear in your history. A channel owner may also have removed it.

Can I edit a YouTube comment I've already posted?

Yes. Open Comment History, go to the video, select More next to your comment and choose Edit or Delete.

How do I see comments on my own YouTube videos?

In the YouTube Studio app, tap the Community icon in the bottom menu, then View all. You can filter by response status to find comments you haven't answered.

Can other people see my YouTube comments?

Yes. YouTube's help says comments are public and anyone can reply to them.