YouTube Help
Private and unlisted videos
If you would like to limit the exposure of one of your videos, you can set it to be a Private video. If your video is set to Private, only you and up to 50 other users who you invite to view the video will be able to see it. The video will not appear on your channel, in search results, or in playlists etc.
How to make a video private
» Sign in to your YouTube account and click on the arrow next to Uploads at the top of the page. From the drop down menu, select Video Manager.
» Choose the video you want to edit and click the Edit button below the video thumbnail.
» Under the Broadcasting and Sharing Options section (on the left-hand side of the page towards the bottom) you'll see Privacy options. Click the little black arrow / triangle to expand and see all your privacy options.
» You'll see the option to make the video Public or Private. If you make your video Private then only 50 other users will be able to view the video. If you'd like all users to be able to see / view your video, you should set your video to Public.
» If you'd like to make your video Private, click and select the Private option.
» Save the changes you made to your video's settings by clicking the Save Changes button. Your video will now be set to Private.
Sharing private videos
If you'd like to share one of your videos with a select and limited audience, you can do so by setting your video to Private. Once the video's set to Private you'll be able to share it with up to 50 other users.
If you use a Google+ identity on YouTube, your sharing options are slightly different than accounts that use usernames. Please make note of the differences in the directions below.
Please note:
» You cannot share a private video with more than 50 other users. If you'd like to share the video with more people, you'll need to set the video to Public or Unlisted.
» If you use your Google+ identity on YouTube, you do not have a 50 person limit on sharing, as private video sharing is done to Google+ circles. There is no limit to the number of circles to which a Google+ user can share.
» In order to watch a private video, your contacts must already have a YouTube account. If they don't already have an account, they'll first need to sign up for an account. If they do not sign into their account before watching the video, the video will not load.
To share a private video, follow these steps:
» Sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Video Manager.
» Next, click the Uploads link. Click and choose the video you want to send to your friends. Then, click the Edit button.
» Under the Basic Info tab you'll see privacy options in the upper right. Click the little black arrow / triangle to expand and see all your privacy options (if its not already open and you cannot see your privacy options).
» If the video is set to Private, you'll see a section to enter up to 50 YouTube usernames or email addresses of people that will have access to your private videos. If you use your Google+ identity on YouTube, you will be able to share to your Google+ circles here. However, you cannot share to YouTube usernames (sharing to email addresses is still available).
Unlisted videos
An unlisted video is a different type of private video. Unlisted means that only people who know the link to the video can view it (such as friends or family to whom you send the link). An unlisted video will not appear in any of YouTube's public spaces (such as search results, your channel, or the Browse page). An unlisted video is different to a private video in these ways:
» You don't need a YouTube account to watch the video (you can see an unlisted video if someone sends you the video's link)
» There's no 50 person sharing limit
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