YouTube is popular because of its vast library featuring all video genres, including music, travel, entertainment, health, education, and more. Another reason for its popularity is that it’s free to use.
Users just need a Google account to stream on YouTube. Despite being popular, not all users understand the dynamics of YouTube’s features.
If you’re curious about making a YouTube channel private, you’ll be happy to know it only takes a few simple moves.
Access YouTube Studio and click “Settings” at the bottom. Click “Channel” and open the “Advanced Settings” tab. Scroll down the page until you get to the “Remove YouTube content” option. Click “I want to hide my content.” Check the box with the option to hide your channel activities. Click “Hide my content” at the bottom-right corner.
This post details how to make a YouTube channel private using a PC or the YouTube mobile app.
Overview of Making a YouTube Channel Private
Over the last few years, YouTube has become one of the biggest creative platforms, with over 15 million active content creators. One of the prerequisites for becoming a YouTube creator is having a YouTube channel. Unfortunately, some YouTube users are unaware that you can create a channel and make it private.
Making a channel private works for people who want to post videos without having to share them publicly or only share with specific people. Besides creating a private YouTube channel for personal use, you can also make one for a company.
Some exclusive event planners and companies also create private YouTube channels to upload event videos and invite specific people from their target audience to view their content. The private channel acts as an exclusive invite-only portfolio for their services.
Next, we’ll discuss making a YouTube channel private on your PC and mobile app.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making a YouTube Channel Private
Depending on your device, there are two ways to make a YouTube channel private. We’ll discuss these methods further below.
Method #1: Using a PC
Follow the steps below.
- Launch your web browser and log into your YouTube account.
- Click on the profile icon at the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Select “YouTube Studio.”
- Go to the left-side panel menu and click “Settings” at the bottom.
- Click “Channel” and open the “Advanced settings” tab.
- Scroll down the page until you reach the “Other settings” section.
- Click on “Remove YouTube content.”
- Your Google account page will open. Enter your password and click “Sign in.“
- On the new page, click the drop-down arrow next to “I want to hide my content.“
- Check the first box describing which channel features will be private.
- Finally, click the “Hide my content” button at the window’s bottom-right corner.
Method #2: Using the Mobile App
Using the mobile app, you can’t make a YouTube channel private, but you can still change some privacy settings to ensure your subscriptions and playlists are private.
- Launch the YouTube mobile app on your phone.
- Tap your profile icon at the top-right corner of the screen.
- Select “Your channel.”
- Tap the pencil icon on the right-side edge of the “Manage videos” button.
- Navigate to “Privacy” and ensure the toggles next to “Keep all my subscriptions private” and “Keep all my saved playlists private” are enabled.
If you’re limited to using the YouTube mobile append and don’t want uploads to your channel to be public, ensure you set the audience to private before uploading the video. This way, the video will only be visible to you and the people you share the video link with.
Summary
Making a YouTube channel private can come in handy for people who like to upload videos but want to remain private. It also works for organizations offering exclusive services but wants a portfolio where specific clients can see videos.
If you’re limited to using the YouTube mobile app, check the privacy settings for your channel and set your video audience to private before uploading.
