Watching videos online has become an integral part of our daily lives. From catching up on the latest news and entertainment to learning new skills, video platforms like YouTube have made accessing video content easier than ever. However, with great convenience comes the issue of privacy. The videos we watch are all being recorded in our watch history and this data is being used to recommend videos and target ads. If you wish to protect your privacy by removing your YouTube watch history, there are a few simple steps you can take.
Why Would You Want to Delete Your YouTube Watch History?
Here are some common reasons for wanting to delete your YouTube watch history:
Protect Your Privacy
Your YouTube watch history contains a lot of information about your interests, habits, and demographics. Although this data helps YouTube recommend videos for you, it also means that your preferences are being tracked and logged. Deleting your watch history regularly prevents this data from being compiled into a detailed profile.
Avoid Embarrassing Recommendations
YouTube’s recommendation algorithm uses your watch history to suggest new videos for you to watch. However, if you’ve watched some embarrassing or private videos, you probably don’t want these affecting your recommendations. Clearing your watch history can help avoid potentially awkward video suggestions.
Stop Irrelevant Recommendations
Over time, your interests might change but your watch history stays the same. This can lead to YouTube recommending outdated or irrelevant videos. Wiping your watch history helps YouTube focus on suggesting videos tailored to your current interests.
Fix Glitchy Recommendations
Sometimes YouTube’s algorithm seems to get stuck, recommending the same types of videos over and over. Deleting your watch history can help “reset” the algorithm so it provides more variety.
Start Fresh
If you want to take a break from YouTube or feel like you’ve been spending too much time watching videos, erasing your watch history can feel like a fresh start. With no watch history, you’ll only see recommendations based on your current session.
How to Delete Watch History on YouTube Website
Deleting your YouTube watch history using a web browser is easy and only takes a few steps:
1. Go to YouTube.com and Sign In
Access YouTube from any web browser and sign into your Google account. Make sure you’re signed into the account whose watch history you want to manage.
2. Click on your Profile Picture
In the top right corner of the screen you’ll see your profile picture, click on it to open up a drop-down menu.
3. Select “YouTube Studio”
This will open your YouTube creator studio dashboard. This is where creators can view analytics, manage content and review comments.
4. Click on “Settings”
On the left sidebar you’ll see a list of options, click on “Settings”.
5. Select “Watch History”
Under the “Privacy” settings you’ll see an option for “Watch history”. Click on it.
6. Click “Delete All Watch History”
You’ll now see options for pausing watch history, as well as deleting some or all of your history. To fully erase it, click the blue “Delete All Watch History” button.
7. Confirm Deletion
A popup will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete your entire watch history. Click delete.
8. Done!
Once you click delete, your YouTube watch history will be completely erased. The page will reload with a message saying “Watch history deleted”.
Clearing Watch History on Mobile App
If you primarily watch YouTube via the mobile app on your iPhone, Android or tablet, here’s how to clear your watch history:
1. Open the YouTube App
Launch the YouTube app on your device. Make sure you’re logged into the account whose history you want to delete.
2. Tap on your Profile Picture
Tap on your profile icon in the top right corner to open your account menu.
3. Tap “Settings”
This will open your account settings within the YouTube app.
4. Tap “History & Privacy”
Under “General” settings you’ll see an option for “History & privacy”, tap on it.
5. Tap “Delete Watch History”
This will open your watch history options. Tap the blue “Delete Watch History” button.
6. Confirm Deletion
A popup will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete your entire watch history. Tap “Delete”.
7. Done!
Once confirmed, your YouTube watch history will be erased. The page will reload with a “Watch history deleted” confirmation.
How to Pause Watch History
Rather than deleting your watch history entirely, you can pause it to prevent new videos from being added. Here’s how:
On Desktop
Follow steps 1-5 above to access watch history settings, then toggle the switch next to “Pause watch history” on. This will immediately pause your watch history. Toggle it off later to resume saving watch history.
On Mobile
Follow steps 1-4 above to get to History & Privacy settings, then tap “Pause Watch History”. This will stop any new videos from being added to your history. Return later and tap “Resume Watch History” when ready.
Pausing is useful if you want to temporarily stop YouTube from tracking your watches without deleting your full history.
How to Delete Watch History for Specific Videos
If you only want to remove certain videos from your watch history, you can delete them individually:
On Desktop
1. Go to YouTube and sign in
2. Click on your profile picture > YouTube Studio
3. On the left menu, click Content > Videos
4. Find the video you want to remove in your uploads or videos you’ve watched
5. Click the 3 dot “More” menu next to it
6. Select “Remove from watch history” to delete only that video
On Mobile
1. Open the YouTube app and sign in
2. Tap on your profile picture
3. Tap “Your videos” to see your watch history
4. Find the specific video you want to remove
5. Tap the 3 dot menu next to the video title
6. Choose “Remove from watch history”
This will delete just that particular video from your history without affecting the rest.
How to Disable YouTube Watch History
If you don’t want YouTube saving any watch history at all, you can disable the feature entirely:
On Desktop
1. Go to your YouTube Watch History page
2. Turn “Pause watch history” on
3. Untick the box next to “Save watch history”
This will stop YouTube from tracking any new watch history while also deleting your current history.
On Mobile
1. Go to History & Privacy settings
2. Tap “Disable watch history”
3. Confirm disabling when prompted
This will immediately disable watch history tracking without deleting your current history.
Disabling watch history means you’ll lose personalized recommendations, but your privacy will be protected.
Other YouTube History Settings
In addition to watch history, YouTube keeps track of several other types of history and data:
– Search history – The terms and phrases you searched for
– Comments – Comments you’ve posted on videos
– Advertising interests – Data on your interests YouTube shows advertisers
– Location history – Videos watched and searches from specific locations
– Device history – Videos watched across different devices
You can delete each of these individually from the History & Privacy page. Or you can disable them entirely for maximum privacy.
YouTube also provides options like:
– Auto-delete option – Have history automatically erased every 3, 18 or 36 months
– Remove pause/play history – Don’t save info on where you paused or replayed videos
– Incognito mode – Watch videos without recording history at all
Explore these additional settings to tailor your ideal privacy levels.
Watch History on YouTube TV
The YouTube TV streaming service also records information on the shows, movies and channels you watch. To manage this:
On Mobile
1. Open the YouTube TV app
2. Tap your profile picture
3. Tap Settings > Privacy
4. Tap “Delete viewing history”
On the Web
1. Go to tv.youtube.com
2. Click your profile picture
3. Click Settings
4. Go to Privacy > Viewing history
5. Click “Delete” to erase your YouTube TV watch history
This will prevent shows from affecting your personalized recommendations within the YouTube TV service.
Is Deleted Watch History Gone Forever?
When you delete your YouTube watch history using the steps above, it is permanently erased from Google’s servers. However, there are a few caveats:
– Deleting only affects the account you cleared it from. Other accounts on your device or browser will still have their own separate history.
– Videos could still show up in recommendations based on other viewing patterns, but not directly because you watched them before deleting history.
– Deleting watch history does not delete other YouTube data like search history, comments, advertising profile or general Google account data.
So while your specific video watch history is gone for good, other snippets of data remain that could indirectly influence recommendations. For true anonymity, deleting watch history works best alongside disabling other history settings and using incognito mode.
Conclusion
Being able to delete your YouTube watch history gives you control over your privacy. Clearing your history regularly limits how much of your personal data is saved, while pausing or disabling it lets you use YouTube without any tracking at all. Just be aware that you’ll lose customized video suggestions in exchange for privacy. Managing your YouTube watch history only takes seconds, so review these steps to delete or disable it across devices and start watching more privately today.