How to Remove Songs From a YouTube Music Playlist (Phone and PC)

Playlists get messy fast. You build one for a long drive, a workout or background music while you work, and a few weeks later it's full of tracks you've skipped every single time. Clearing a few songs out makes the whole thing nicer to use.

Removing a song from a YouTube Music playlist takes seconds on a phone, once you know the gesture. YouTube Music's help pages give the steps for Android and iPhone, so I'll start there, then cover what to do on a computer and what each related action does.

Removing a song from a YouTube Music playlist on Android or iPhone

The steps are the same on both. According to YouTube Music's help, you swipe the song to the left:

1. Open the YouTube Music app and select the Library tab.
2. Find the playlist you've created and tap it to open it.
3. Find the song you want to remove.
4. Swipe left on the song.
5. Tap Remove.

That takes the song out of that playlist. It's a quick way to prune a list when you're on the move. If nothing happens when you swipe, check that you're swiping the song itself rather than the edge of the screen, and that you're inside a playlist you created.

Removing songs from a YouTube Music playlist on a computer

Here I'll be careful about what I claim. YouTube Music's help for the computer version covers creating, editing and deleting playlists, but it doesn't include a step-by-step for removing a single song. What it does say is how to open the editing options. Select Library, then Playlists, or choose your playlist from the sidebar. Then use More and select Edit to change the title, add a description or change privacy, and drag and drop songs to reorder them.

Menus on the web player can change between versions. If you're on a computer and can't see a removal option, the same playlist is also available in the app on your phone, where the swipe gesture above is documented. Your playlists show up on the Library tab of both the YouTube Music and YouTube apps, so there's no need to rebuild anything.

Editing a YouTube Music playlist while you tidy it

Removing songs is often part of a bigger tidy-up. On Android and iPhone, YouTube Music's help says to open the playlist and tap More, then Edit playlist. From there you can:

• Change the title of the playlist.
• Add a description.
• Change who the playlist is visible to, using the privacy setting.
• Reorder the songs.

If a playlist is going to be shared, I'd do the title and description at the same time as removing the dud tracks. A clear name and a short description make a playlist feel finished.

Removing a song from a YouTube Music playlist versus deleting the playlist

These are different jobs, and it's worth being clear so you don't lose a whole list by accident.

What you want	What YouTube Music's help says to do
Remove one song from a playlist	Open the playlist, swipe left on the song, tap Remove
Change a playlist's title, description or privacy	More, then Edit playlist
Delete the whole playlist	Find it in your Library, tap More, then Delete

The Delete option removes the entire playlist, so check which menu you're in before you tap it. If you're doing the same job on YouTube itself rather than YouTube Music, my guide to deleting a YouTube playlist covers that app.

Adding songs back to a YouTube Music playlist

If you remove the wrong song, don't worry. You can add it again. On Android and iPhone, YouTube Music says to scroll to the bottom of the playlist and tap Add a song. You can also add a song from anywhere in the app: select More on the song, choose Add to playlist, then pick New playlist or an existing one.

Removing songs from a shared or collaborative YouTube Music playlist

Collaborative playlists have extra rules. YouTube Music's help says that as a collaborator on a playlist, you can share, sort, add to and edit the playlist. To invite collaborators, the owner selects the pencil to edit, selects Collaborate, chooses who can add songs and videos, and shares the link.

The owner stays in control. For Taste Match playlists, which are generated daily from the listening history of everyone taking part, the help says the owner can deactivate the sharing link at any time to stop others adding to it. A Taste Match can have up to 10 participants, and the owner can remove one from the Participants page by selecting their avatar, opening the three-dot menu and choosing Remove from playlist. That removes a person, not a song, but people often mix the two up.

Why you may not be able to remove a song from a YouTube Music playlist

A few situations come up in YouTube Music's help pages:

• Made for kids content can't be saved to a playlist, so you'll find that option missing there.
• Playlists default to private for supervised accounts, which can change what you see.
• Availability can differ depending on the type of channel or account you have, particularly with Brand Accounts and channel permission roles.

The practical checks are the usual ones. Make sure you're signed in to the account that owns the playlist. Update the YouTube Music app. Restart it, and then try the swipe again. If you've got more than one login on your phone, switching accounts on YouTube shows you how to confirm which one is active.

Sharing your tidied YouTube Music playlist

Once you've pruned the list, it's a good moment to share it. I wrote a guide to sharing a YouTube playlist for the YouTube side of things. If you use playlists to back up videos for your business, such as client training or a reel of your best work, a tidy list also looks better when someone opens it for the first time.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove a song from a YouTube Music playlist?

On Android or iPhone, open the Library tab, tap the playlist, swipe left on the song and tap Remove. This is the method in YouTube Music's help.

How do I remove a song from a playlist on a computer?

YouTube Music's help for computers covers editing the title, description, privacy and order, but doesn't list a removal step. Use the mobile app swipe method if you can't find an option.

Will removing a song delete the playlist?

No. Removing a song only takes it out of that playlist. Deleting a playlist is a separate action: find it in your Library, tap More, then Delete.

Can I add a song back after removing it?

Yes. In the app, scroll to the bottom of the playlist and tap Add a song, or use More and Add to playlist on the song itself.

Why can't I save a song to a YouTube Music playlist?

YouTube Music's help says made for kids content can't be saved to a playlist. Account type and supervised accounts can also change what is available.