How to Share a YouTube Playlist: Link and Privacy

To share a YouTube playlist, make sure it's set to unlisted or public, open the playlist and copy its link, or use the Share option from the playlist menu in the app. A private playlist can't be shared as a link. Anyone with the link can watch an unlisted playlist.

A playlist is one of the neatest ways to share a batch of videos in one link: a reading list for a team, a training series for clients, a collection of your own best work. But sharing one has a catch that trips people up. Whether the link works depends entirely on the playlist's visibility setting. I'll cover how to get the link on a computer and the app, what private, unlisted and public mean according to YouTube's help centre, and how collaboration works.

Check your YouTube playlist's visibility before you share it

YouTube's help centre describes three settings. Here's how its table works out:

	Private	Unlisted	Public
Can you share the link?	No	Yes, it can be shared	Yes, freely
Who can watch it?	Only you	Anyone with the link	Anyone
Shows in search and recommendations?	Never	Not shown	Yes, it can be
Posted on your channel?	Not posted	Not posted	Yes, posted

So if you want to send the playlist to a specific group, unlisted is usually right. If you want people to find it by searching, public is the choice. A private playlist can't be shared as a link at all. I've explained the middle option in what unlisted means on YouTube.

Change a YouTube playlist's visibility before sharing

On a computer, YouTube's help gives two routes. In YouTube Studio:

Sign in to YouTube Studio.
In the left menu, open Content, then Playlists.
Click Details on the playlist you want to change.
Open the Visibility drop-down, choose the new setting and click Save.

Or on YouTube itself: go to the You tab, then Playlists, select View full playlist under the playlist, and use the drop-down below the title to pick the setting. The help page I read only gave computer steps for this, so on a phone, look for the privacy option in the playlist's edit settings. Menus vary by app version.

Sign in, open Playlists from the left menu and click the playlist.
Copy the link from your browser's address bar.
Paste it into your email, message or document.

YouTube's help adds a check worth remembering. The link should contain the word playlist. If it doesn't, it points at a single video instead. For someone else's playlist, go to their channel, open the Playlists tab, click View full playlist under the one you want, and copy the link from there.

Open the YouTube app and go to any channel page.
Tap the Playlists tab at the top.
Tap the More icon next to the playlist.
Tap Share to send it by email, text or social media, or tap Copy link.

The help centre notes that on YouTube's mobile site only videos can be shared, with more playlist features promised there. If your playlist includes private videos, you'll need to invite the people you're sharing with so they can view those videos.

Let other people add to your YouTube playlist

Playlists can be a team effort. YouTube's help says friends can help build a playlist. The flow is to create or open a playlist, open its sharing options, choose to invite collaborators and select the people. If the playlist is private, YouTube asks you to make it unlisted or public before the invite goes out.

Collaborators' profile pictures appear on the videos they add.
They can remove only the videos they added. You, as owner, can remove any.
To stop collaboration, select the collaborators' photos at the top of the playlist and turn off Collaborate. That removes everyone.
Voting can let collaborators influence the order. The owner sets it to everyone, collaborators only or off.

The collaboration article's voting steps are written for YouTube Music, so check which app you're using.

Embed a YouTube playlist instead of sharing a link

If you want the playlist on a website, YouTube's help centre has a separate article on embedding videos and playlists. I haven't reproduced its steps here, but it's worth reading if you run a small business site and want a series of videos to appear on one page.

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Before you send the link to a client, open it in a private or signed out window. That shows you what a stranger sees. An unlisted playlist should open for anyone with the link. If it asks for a sign in or says it's unavailable, check two things: the playlist's visibility, and whether it contains private videos. YouTube's help says private videos in a shared playlist are only visible to people the uploader has shared them with.

It's also worth looking at the order. People tend to start from the top, so put your best or most introductory video first. You can drag videos up or down in the playlist to reorder them, which YouTube's help describes for playlists that contain regular videos.

A welcome playlist for new clients, set to unlisted.
A training playlist for your team, with collaborators adding useful finds.
A public playlist that groups your best videos by topic, so viewers keep watching.

If you're brand new to this, start with making a playlist on YouTube. And for the viewer side, saving videos is covered in my guide to saving a video on YouTube.

Frequently asked questions

Can I share a private YouTube playlist?

According to YouTube's help, you can't share the link of a private playlist. Change it to unlisted or public first.

What is the difference between unlisted and public playlists?

Unlisted playlists can be watched and shared by anyone with the link but don't appear in search or recommendations. Public playlists appear in search, recommendations and on your channel.

How do I copy a YouTube playlist link?

Open the playlist and copy the link from your browser on a computer. In the app, open the channel's Playlists tab, tap More next to the playlist and choose Copy link.

Why does my playlist link open one video?

YouTube's help says a link without the word playlist in it points to a single video. Open the playlist page itself and copy that link.

Can others add videos to my playlist?

Yes, you can invite collaborators through the playlist's sharing options, according to YouTube's help.

Published and maintained by the Lilach Bullock team, covering marketing, AI and business growth.