How to Clear Watch Later on YouTube (Computer and Phone)

Watch Later is brilliant for about a week. Then it turns into a digital junk drawer of tutorials you meant to watch, ideas you've forgotten and videos that no longer matter. If yours has grown unmanageable and you want a clean slate, you'll want to know what YouTube lets you do.

Here's the honest answer first, because it saves you hunting. YouTube's help page describes removing videos from Watch Later one at a time. It doesn't describe a button that clears the whole playlist in one go. Below are the steps it does give, and some ways to make the job quicker.

Removing videos from YouTube Watch Later on a computer

These are the steps in YouTube's help centre:

1. In the Guide, click You.
2. Under Watch Later, click More below the video you want to remove.
3. Click Remove from Watch later.

Repeat for each video. The video disappears from the list straight away, and you can carry on down the list until it's as short as you want.

Clearing YouTube Watch Later on Android

1. Tap your profile picture to open the You tab.
2. Under Playlists, select Watch later.
3. Tap the More icon next to the video you want to remove.
4. Tap Remove from Watch later.

The help page doesn't say anything about removing everything at once on Android either, so it's the same one-at-a-time approach.

Removing videos from YouTube Watch Later on iPhone

The iPhone steps aren't spelled out in the help page text I read, and menus vary by app version, so I'll keep this one short. The layout follows the Android pattern: open the You tab, find Watch later under your playlists, open the More menu beside a video and look for Remove from Watch later. If your wording differs, YouTube's help centre has an iPhone and iPad version of the article.

Why YouTube Watch Later has no clear-all button in the help pages

I can't tell you why YouTube designed it this way, and I don't want to guess. What I can say is that the official article only covers removing individual videos. If you spot a Clear all or Remove watched option in your own app, it may exist in your version, but it isn't something the help page documents, so I won't promise it.

A quicker way to tidy up YouTube Watch Later

Most people wait until the list is hundreds of videos long, which makes the job feel enormous. A little and often works better, and it keeps the list useful as a real reading list.

Since you can't rely on a one-click wipe, here's how I'd work through a long list without losing an evening:

1. Open Watch Later on a computer. The bigger screen makes the More menu easier to hit.
2. Remove the obvious ones first: things you've already watched and videos on topics you no longer care about.
3. Do a small batch whenever you have a spare couple of minutes, rather than one big session.
4. Keep a short list of videos that matter, and let the rest go.

If you'd rather keep videos you might want but organise them better, move them to a named list. My guide to making a playlist on YouTube shows how to set one up, and you can create one from a video using More, Save and Create new playlist, then choose a privacy setting. YouTube says a private playlist is visible only to you.

Deleting a playlist instead of clearing YouTube Watch Later

Watch Later is a special playlist, so don't confuse it with ones you create yourself. For those, my guide to deleting a YouTube playlist explains the route. The Watch Later list itself stays in place and you just empty it video by video.

Videos you can't save to YouTube Watch Later

YouTube's help mentions one limit. If a video is set as made for kids, you can't add it to a playlist or save it to Watch Later. So if a video you expected to see isn't there, that could be why.

Using YouTube Watch Later sensibly for work and learning

For creators and small business owners, Watch Later can be a useful reading list for competitor research, training videos and ideas for your own channel. The trick is to set a rule. Mine is that nothing stays longer than a couple of weeks; if I haven't watched it by then, I probably never will.

• Check Watch Later once a week.
• Watch or remove, don't just leave.
• Move anything long-term into a named playlist.
• Use a separate list for client or project material.

If you can't find YouTube Watch Later to clear it

Work through this list. On a computer, open the Guide and click You, then look for Watch Later. On a phone, tap your profile picture to open the You tab and find Watch later under Playlists. Make sure you're signed in to the right account, because a different login will show a different list. If you manage more than one account, my guide to switching accounts on YouTube helps. If the list still looks wrong, use YouTube's help centre to report the problem.

Related guides live in the YouTube Help: 30 Guides to Channels, Subscribers, Monetisation, Thumbnails and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I clear Watch Later on YouTube?

YouTube's help describes removing videos one at a time: open Watch Later, click or tap More beside a video and choose Remove from Watch later.

Is there a way to clear all of Watch Later at once?

The official help page doesn't describe one. It only covers removing individual videos.

How do I remove a video from Watch Later on Android?

Tap your profile picture to open the You tab, select Watch later under Playlists, tap More next to the video and tap Remove from Watch later.

Why can't I save a video to Watch Later?

YouTube says videos set as made for kids can't be added to a playlist or saved to Watch Later.

Can I move videos to another playlist instead?

Yes. Use More, then Save, and choose or create a playlist. A private playlist is visible only to you.