Trolls are everywhere. If you’ve spent more than five minutes uploading a video or checking your notifications, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It starts with a weird comment, maybe some spam about "free gift cards," or worse—someone actually harassing your community. You need to know how to ban people on YouTube before your comment section turns into a digital wasteland.
It’s about control. Honestly, most creators wait too long. They think being "nice" means letting everyone have a say, but that's a recipe for burnout. Your channel is your house. If someone walks in and starts throwing trash on the floor, you don't invite them to stay for tea. You kick them out.
Why You Actually Need to Hide Users
YouTube doesn't technically use the word "ban" for viewers; they call it "Hiding a user from your channel." It sounds softer, but the effect is brutal and effective. When you hide someone, their comments never show up for anyone else. They can still type away, screaming into the void, thinking they’re being heard, but they are essentially ghosted.
This is better than a hard block in some ways. Why? Because a banned person who knows they are banned usually just makes a second account. A "hidden" person keeps wasting their energy on an account that no one can see. It's the ultimate quiet power move.
The Fast Way: Banning Directly From Comments
If you’re looking at a specific nasty comment right now, don't overthink it. Just act.
Find the comment. Click those three little vertical dots on the right side. You’ll see a few options like "Remove" or "Report." You want the one that says Hide user from channel. Boom. Done. They are gone from your ecosystem. If you just hit "Remove," they can come back and post something else. "Hide" is the permanent solution.
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Managing the Chaos in YouTube Studio
Sometimes you need to be more surgical. Maybe you have a list of people who have been causing trouble across multiple platforms and you want to pre-emptively stop them. Or maybe you accidentally hid your Grandma and need to bring her back.
You’ve got to head over to the YouTube Studio dashboard on a desktop. Go to Settings, then Community, and then the Automated Filters tab.
This screen is the heart of your moderation. You’ll see a box for Hidden users. This is your "ban list." You can manually paste channel URLs here to ban people on YouTube even if they haven't commented yet.
It’s also where you handle the "Hidden" vs. "Approved" users. Approved users are your superfans—the ones whose comments always go live, even if they accidentally trigger a spam filter. It's a good way to reward the people who actually contribute value to your community while keeping the vultures at bay.
What Happens to Their Old Comments?
Here’s a detail most people miss: when you hide a user, it doesn't just stop future comments. It usually wipes their existing ones from your videos too. It’s like they never existed. However, if they’ve been replying to other people, those threads can sometimes look a bit disjointed afterward. It's a small price to pay for peace and quiet.
The Nuclear Option: Block Links and Words
If you are dealing with a massive influx of bots, banning individuals is like trying to empty the ocean with a spoon. You’re going to lose.
Instead, look at the Blocked Words section in your Community settings.
Don't just put bad words in there. Think bigger.
- Common spam phrases like "check out my channel" or "WhatsApp me."
- Specific insults that keep popping up.
- Competitor names if people are just there to poach your audience.
Any comment containing these words will be held for review. It won't be public. You can go in once a week, see if anything legitimate got caught, and trash the rest. Also, check the box that says Block links. This is the single most effective way to stop 90% of YouTube spam. Most scammers are just trying to drive traffic to a sketchy external site. If they can't post a link, they'll usually move on to an easier target.
Moderation Levels: Standard vs. Strict
YouTube recently introduced different levels of comment moderation. You can find this under the "Defaults" tab in your Community settings.
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"Increase strictness" is a godsend. It uses Google’s AI (which, let's be real, is hit or miss but mostly hit) to flag potentially inappropriate comments. If you’re a smaller creator, you might want to keep it on "Basic." But once you hit a certain scale, "Strict" becomes a necessity.
I’ve seen channels where the creator tries to read every single thing. They end up miserable. You have to let the tools do the heavy lifting so you can focus on making videos.
Why You Shouldn't Just Turn Comments Off
Some people get so fed up they just disable comments entirely. Don't do that.
The YouTube algorithm loves engagement. Comments are a huge signal that people are actually watching and interacting with your content. If you turn them off, you’re basically telling the algorithm your video is a dead end. It’s better to have a heavily moderated comment section than a silent one.
Dealing with Live Stream Trolls
Live streaming is a different beast. It’s real-time, it’s fast, and a single troll can derail an entire broadcast. If you’re wondering how to ban people on YouTube during a live stream, the process is slightly different but much faster.
You need Moderators.
Don't try to moderate your own chat while you're talking. It’s impossible to stay in "creator mode" and "police mode" at the same time. Find a few trusted viewers, click their name in the chat, and select Add as moderator. They get a little blue wrench next to their name and the power to timeout or hide users instantly.
A "Timeout" is a great middle ground. It's a 300-second (5 minute) ban. It's a "hey, cool it" move. If they come back and keep acting up, then your mods can go for the permanent hide.
The Legal and Ethical Side of Banning
Can you get in trouble for banning people? On your own channel? No.
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There’s a lot of talk about "free speech," but that applies to the government, not your YouTube channel. You have every right to curate the space you’ve built. However, be careful about banning people just because they disagree with you.
Nuance matters.
If someone says "I didn't like this video because of X, Y, and Z," and they’re being respectful, banning them makes you look weak. It kills healthy debate. But if they're using slurs, doxing people, or being a general nuisance, get them out of there.
How to Tell if You’ve Been Banned
If you're on the other side of this and you think a creator banned you, there’s an easy way to check. Log out of your YouTube account or open an Incognito window. Go to the video where you commented. If you can see your comment while logged in, but it disappears when you’re logged out, you’ve been "hidden."
It sucks to realize, but it’s a clear sign to move on.
Summary of Actionable Steps
Keeping your channel clean requires a proactive strategy rather than a reactive one.
- Audit your Blocked Words list monthly. Language shifts and new spam trends emerge constantly.
- Assign at least two moderators for every live stream, even if you only have 50 viewers.
- Always use "Hide user from channel" instead of just deleting comments. Deleting is a temporary fix; hiding is a permanent solution.
- Enable "Block Links" in your community settings immediately. This stops the vast majority of automated bot attacks.
- Review your "Held for Review" folder once or twice a week. Sometimes the filter gets overzealous and catches a fan who just used a weird word or an emoji.
Managing a community is a skill. It's not just about the "ban hammer," but about creating a space where your actual fans feel safe to talk. When you get rid of the noise, the signal gets a lot louder. Focus on the people who are there for the right reasons, and don't feel guilty about silencing the ones who aren't. Your mental health and your channel's culture depend on it.