There are many reasons why you might want to delete a YouTube video.
Maybe it didn’t resonate with your audience, and you’re uploading a revamped version. Or you realized that you have to fix a copyright issue. Perhaps it’s old content that simply doesn’t perform well and doesn’t fit in your niche anymore.
No matter why, deleting a YouTube video is pretty straightforward, but how you do it depends on the platform you’re on. Here’s how to go about it on both desktop and mobile.
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How to Delete a YouTube Video on Desktop
Open YouTube Studio. If you want to delete a YouTube video on your computer, go to YouTube. Then, navigate to YouTube Studio via the drop-down menu you get by clicking on your profile icon in the top right corner.
Go to the content list:
Once in YouTube Studio, click on the Content tab in the left sidebar. This will bring you to an overview of all your content and its metrics, such as likes and dislikes, visibility, and upload date.
Here, you can delete a video in one of two ways. Either hover on a video and click on the three dots that appear just below its title.
Click the triple dots: If you do this, you get the option “Delete forever”.
Note: You can also check the tick box in front of the video title and click “More actions” in the black header that appears. This, too, will give you the “Delete forever” option. Plus, it’s a way to delete multiple YouTube videos at once if you need to.
Confirm deletion:
Either way, once you’ve clicked “Delete forever”, you’ll have to confirm that you really want to delete your content. A pop-up will tell you that you’re about to permanently delete a video and that this can’t be undone. You need to check the box for “I understand that deleting is permanent, and can’t be undone”, and then click “Delete forever” once again.
This extra step is a safeguard against you accidentally deleting content or making a hasty decision that you might later regret.
How to Delete a YouTube Video on Mobile
On mobile, you have two options when it comes to how to delete a YouTube video. You can either delete it in the YouTube app, or you can use the YouTube Studio app.
Delete a YouTube Video Using the YouTube App
In the YouTube app, tap on your profile icon in the top right corner of your screen.
Then select “Your channel” from the drop-down menu that appears. This will take you to an initial overview of your channel, including subscriber counts, playlists, and analytics.
Once here, click on “Manage videos”. You’ll get the same overview of your content as in the Desktop version of YouTube Studio.
Here, tap on the three dots next to a video title to open the menu.
Next, select the “Delete” option at the bottom of your screen.
As on desktop, you’ll be asked to confirm that you actually want to delete your video. Once you do that, your video will be removed from YouTube completely.
Delete a YouTube Video Using the YouTube Studio App
The second way of deleting a YouTube video on mobile is to use the YouTube Studio app. Tap on the Content tab at the bottom of your screen.
Tap on the Content tab at the bottom of your screen. This will take you straight to an overview of all your videos. Note: If you want to delete a YouTube Short, it’s in one tab over.
Find the video that you want to delete and tap the three dots next to its title.
As in the YouTube app, you’ll get a menu of choices. “Delete” is the last option on the list.
If you want to take a closer look at the video before you delete it, you can tap on its thumbnail. This will give you an overview of its analytics, comments, and so on.
If you decide you still want to delete it, tap on the pencil icon in the top right corner of the video.
This will take you to a screen where you can edit your video’s title, description, and audience. To go on to delete it from here, tap on “More options” at the bottom of your screen.
In this advanced editing space, you’ll find the “Delete from YouTube” option at the bottom of your screen. Again, you’ll be asked to confirm the deletion.
The Bottom Line
If you want to delete one of your YouTube videos, you can do so quickly and efficiently, using either YouTube Studio on desktop, or the mobile apps for YouTube or YouTube Studio.
Yes, you can bulk delete YouTube videos. You just have to select more than one video in the list, then choose the “Delete” action. You’ll need to confirm that you really want to do it.
Generally, there is no need to. There’s usually no benefit to deleting a video over setting it to unlisted or private.
Not really. If you delete one of your videos on YouTube, it’s gone from the platform. If you still have it saved somewhere, you can re-upload it.
No. Deleting the offending video won’t remove the copyright strike. You’ll have to wait until it expires, make a counter-notification, or talk to the people claiming infringement.
