Maybe you uploaded a vlog years ago that makes you cringe now. Or perhaps a client project is finally over and the contract says that footage has to go. Whatever the reason, figuring out how to delete a video youtube is actually one of the simpler tasks on the platform, though Google hides the button just enough to make you second-guess yourself.
It’s gone. Forever.
Once you hit that final confirmation, there is no "undo" button in the YouTube Studio dashboard. YouTube doesn't have a "trash" bin like your Mac or PC where files sit for thirty days before vanishing. When you delete it, the URL becomes a dead link, the comments evaporate, and the view count is subtracted from your channel's lifetime total. Honestly, it's a bit of a digital execution. If you aren't 100% sure, you might want to consider "Unlisted" or "Private" settings first, but if you're ready to burn the bridge, let's get into the actual clicks.
The literal steps to delete a video on YouTube
You can’t do this from the main YouTube watch page. You have to go into the "backstage" area, which Google calls YouTube Studio. If you’re on a desktop, click your profile picture in the top right and hit YouTube Studio. From there, you’ll see a menu on the left. Click Content.
Now you’re looking at your list of uploads. Hover over the video you want to get rid of. You’ll see a little icon with three vertical dots—the "options" menu. Click that. You’ll see an option at the bottom that says Delete forever.
YouTube will pop up a checkbox. It’s basically asking, "Are you really, really sure?" You have to check that box to acknowledge that the deletion is permanent and can't be undone. Click the big red Delete Forever button. That’s it. It’s dead.
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On mobile, it's a bit different because the main YouTube app and the YouTube Studio app have slightly different interfaces. In the standard YouTube app, you go to Library, then Your videos, find the three dots next to the video, and hit delete. It’s faster, but I always feel like the Studio app gives you better control if you’re managing a bunch of clips at once.
Why you might want to Private a video instead
Sometimes deleting is overkill. I've seen creators delete videos that were actually performing well just because they didn't like a specific comment or a tiny editing error.
If you set a video to Private, only you and the people you specifically invite (via email) can see it. It won't show up on your channel, it won't appear in search results, and it won't be in your "uploads" list for the public. But—and this is the big but—you keep the data. You keep the comments. Most importantly, if you ever change your mind, you can just flip it back to Public.
Unlisted is the middle ground. Anyone with the link can watch it, but it won't show up in searches. This is great for sharing a video with a specific group of people without letting the whole world see your 2014 hair transformation.
What happens to your SEO and Watch Time?
This is the part most people get wrong. When you learn how to delete a video youtube and actually execute it, your channel's "Public Watch Hours" take a hit.
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If that video had 5,000 hours of watch time and was helping you stay eligible for the YouTube Partner Program, those hours vanish the moment the video does. If you are right on the edge of monetization (the 4,000-hour mark), deleting a popular video can actually get you demonetized or delay your application.
Also, consider the external links. If you’ve embedded that video on a blog or shared it on Twitter, those posts now feature a black box that says "Video unavailable." It looks broken. It looks unprofessional. If the video was part of a series, the remaining videos might see a dip in views because the "playlist" flow is interrupted.
Dealing with "Ghost" videos and copyright strikes
A common misconception is that deleting a video will remove a Copyright Strike.
It won't.
If Nintendo or Universal Music Group hit you with a strike, deleting the video doesn't make the strike go away. The strike stays on your account for 90 days regardless of whether the content is still live. In fact, deleting the video can sometimes make it harder to file a counter-notification because you’ve removed the evidence you might need to prove "Fair Use."
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If you have a Copyright Claim (which is different and less severe), deleting the video will stop the claimant from running ads on your content, but again, if you just wanted the money, you’d be better off replacing the audio track using the built-in YouTube Editor rather than nuking the whole upload.
Can you recover a deleted YouTube video?
In short: No.
In long: Maybe, if you are a massive creator with a dedicated partner manager at Google. But for 99.9% of us, once you hit delete, that file is purged from Google's active servers.
There is a slight loophole involving the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive). If your video was somewhat popular, the Archive might have crawled the page. You won't get the original high-quality MP4 file back, but you might be able to find a low-res version of it if you really need to see it again. This is why everyone recommends keeping a local backup on a hard drive or a cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox before you ever touch the delete button in Studio.
Moving forward with a cleaner channel
If you're doing a total channel rebrand, deleting videos in bulk is the way to go. In the Content tab, you can click the checkbox at the very top of the list to select every video on the page (usually 30 at a time). Then, click More actions and select Delete forever.
It takes a few minutes for YouTube to process a bulk deletion. Don't refresh the page while it's working. Just let it sit.
Cleaning up your digital footprint is a healthy move. Just make sure you aren't throwing away valuable watch time or historical data that you might want five years from now when "retro" vlogs become cool again.
Actionable Next Steps
- Download your data first. Go to Google Takeout and select YouTube. This lets you download your original video files before you delete them from the platform.
- Check your stats. Open YouTube Analytics and see if the video you're about to delete is still driving traffic to your channel. If it is, consider making it Private instead.
- Audit your embeds. If you use that video on a personal website or a LinkedIn profile, have a replacement ready so you don't end up with "Video Unavailable" errors everywhere.
- Finalize the deletion. Head to YouTube Studio > Content > Three Dots > Delete Forever only once you’ve secured your backup copy.