What Are Unlisted Videos On YouTube
  • author Written By Samuel B. Gillham
  • comments 0 comment
  • calander Publish Date : May 16, 2024
  • calander Last Update : July 27, 2024
  • clock2 10 min read

One well-liked platform for multimedia content hosting is YouTube. Globally, an estimated 2.1 billion YouTube users currently stream 694,000 hours in a minute on the internet. 

Utilizing YouTube videos on your website has enormous advantages. However, sometimes, you must private your YouTube videos on your website so no one else can view them apart from your approved target audience. 

In contrast to a private video, an unlisted video only requires the link to watch the video. In the YouTube Account settings, you can make any of your uploads an unlisted video and share it with your selected group.

Let’s discuss unlisted videos in detail.

What Are Unlisted Videos On YouTube?

A video that is only accessible to individuals you know or who forward the URL to you is called an unlisted video. YouTube’s public areas, including search results, your channel, and the Browse tab, do not display unlisted videos.

There are no limitations to the number of sharing videos with access, so people can only view your unlisted videos if they have the right to watch them. You can watch unlisted videos without a YouTube account if you have its URL.

However, some people might get confused between Private & unlisted videos because of their similar features. To clear those doubts, move forward to know their difference.

What Distinguishes Private From Unlisted YouTube Videos?

YouTube provides different settings for the videos streaming on YouTube channels. People often misunderstand the difference between private and unlisted videos.  Let’s understand what distinguishes private from unlisted YouTube videos: 

Private Videos  Unlisted Videos 
URLs can’t be shared with anyone who is not invited. URLs can be shared with anybody. They can view and further share the videos.
These videos will never show up on search results, your channels, or your feed.  These videos are invisible to search results, channels, or feeds. 
These videos can be made public anytime and can be scheduled, but they will remain private before publishing.  One can never schedule unlisted videos. 

After understanding how unlisted videos differ from other videos, you must think, what is the need to set the unlisted videos?

Why Would Anyone Want To Unlist A YouTube Video?

There are various grounds why you should unlist a video from your channel page; unlisting a YouTube video lies in the middle of entirely restricted private and extremely open public content.

Here, you will get the reasons to unlist a YouTube video in detail:

Integrate on Your Email or Website Without It Showing Up on YouTube Search

Sometimes, you’d like to integrate a video or email promotion on your website without having it appear in search engine results or on subscribers’ channels if you have a YouTube channel and a website. 

The video can still be embedded on your website even after being unlisted, but it won’t appear in search results or on subscribers’ channels.

Performing A/B Testing

It can be beneficial to test many variations of that one video by unlisting it from a video website. For instance, your marketing team is doing an A/B test for a forthcoming promotion. 

You can unlist every variation of that video and show them to a group of people to see how they respond. After determining which unlisted video format best suits your company, you may turn it into a public video. 

Hide Past Videos That Were Not Successful

You might have had less-than-great content a few years ago. While it did the job, your product is now sleeker and more sophisticated. Older videos can be unlisted rather than deleted. 

It implies that although they won’t appear on your channel’s page, users can still view them if they know the URL, for example, from an external link.

Peer Review

Unlisted videos are a terrific way to get input from your colleagues. The best part is that you can share it with over fifty of your business’s staff. 

It is an excellent method of maintaining communication organization, which can help your business succeed by taking feedback from them and improvising.

Online Portfolios and Resumes

One can share portfolios hassle-free if one has limited access. With unlisted videos, there is a chance to reach the right audience for professional affairs by sharing a secret pathway for those who are interested.

You can submit your video resume to multiple prospects by setting it to unlisted, leading to numerous job offers. Increased chances of landing the dream career!

Conducting surveys

Before releasing a video to the broader public, gauging a targeted demographic’s first impressions and comments can be helpful. You can improve the video if you get some unfavorable criticism.

Later, working on those criticisms that were given in surveys can help you make better videos and reach a larger audience in your favor. These surveys can be unlisted and shared with limited access for authentic responses.

Now you have information related to unlisted videos. It’s time to take the next step by learning how to create an unlisted video for your YouTube accounts.

Creating Unlisted YouTube Videos: Step-By-Step Guide

Want to know how can you create an unlisted video on YouTube? Creating unlisted youTube videos has now become easier, and here’s a step-by-step guide that can help you change your privacy settings easily. 

#Step 1: Login and Go to the homepage of YouTube

To start, sign into your YouTube account and tap your icon in the top right corner. It will result in Your Channel appearing in a dropdown menu.

#Step 2: Click the ‘Create A Video’ icon to start uploading a video

After that, the Create icon will have a dropdown menu from which you may select Upload Video. The screen where you can choose which video file to upload will appear afterward.

#Step 3: Select “Unlisted” from the Dropdown List by Tapping on Public

Here, we can choose who will see our video and how it will be published. It is where you can save or share your video. You can then set it to unlist so the video is only seen by those you designate. 

#Step 4: Publish

Selecting “Unlisted” will allow you to share the video URL with a particular group and prevent it from being publicly accessible on your channel. You can copy the URL and paste it into your email to send it to the person the video was meant for, even while it is still processing. 

They will be able to watch the video once it is done processing, so please remember that before sending out your email, you should make sure that has happened.

Quick Note: Unlisted videos will allow anyone with the link to view the content. Alternatively, you might immediately make it public so that anybody can watch.

Advantages Of Unlisted YouTube Videos

Sometimes, we want to limit our YouTube channel content to a specific audience, and that’s where the advantages of Unlisted videos take place. Here are some great benefits one can avail of through unlisted videos: 

Maintains privacy 

Anybody with the video link can only watch unlisted videos that are not publicly searchable or available on your channel. It can be accomplished by sharing videos with a small audience while keeping them partially private. 

You can generate a URL for the videos and share the URLs with the audience who are interested in watching your content. This cannot be found in any playlists of YouTube videos. 

Easy for presentation

Unlisted videos provide your potential customers with all the information they need to be presented in videos. Using videos to your benefit can make your data more visually appealing for your clients. 

Allowing you to deliver your information quickly when you publish it as an unlisted video and keep everyone else from seeing it. It also helps to get authentic responses and feedback on your video’s content. 

Minimal data evaluation  

Unlisted videos are also an excellent approach to assessing your video’s impact before converting to public mode. As was indicated in the first advantage, you may use the URL to share your videos with a large audience, after which you can ask for feedback. 

Doing it in this manner will enable you to gauge your video’s impact once it is made public. Make it known if it seems promising. If not, you should remove it.

Manages storage space 

Storage space is a problem everyone has to address after a while. Since it’s all videos, even ‘drive storage’ can not be of any help. This is where unlisted videos play an important role. 

You can store your mobile videos on YouTube under the unlisted video. It will save your memories for a long time without wasting space in your phone storage.

Drawbacks Of Unlisted YouTube Videos

Unlisted videos do have their limitations, but let’s understand them and try to make use of them more positively. 

  1. Limited Interaction 

It’s also crucial to remember that unlisted videos have less discovery potential because they aren’t seen in subscriber feeds, YouTube search results, your channel’s video tab, or recommendations. 

If expanding your subscription base or reaching a larger audience is your goal, this setting could be better.

How To Protect Your Unlisted Videos?

Unlisted videos provide some anonymity, but you should still take precautions to be safe. Below are the pointers to protect the unlisted videos:

  1. Never share links publicly 

If you aren’t happy with your video being widely accessible, don’t share the URL publicly or on social media. Anyone with the link can view your video. Create a private YouTube channel or playlist in its place if you need to share a video with many people.

  1. Always analyze the access of your unlisted videos 

Remember to check who can view your unlisted films periodically! You can set a video’s status to private or remove it. And post it again with a new link if you think a link has been shared with uninvited persons.

Once you have protected your unlisted videos, learn here how to share unlisted videos with other people safely. 

How To Share Unlisted Videos On YouTube?

Many users wonder if sharing unlisted YouTube videos is possible and comes free from trouble. Well, here are the best ways to share unlisted videos.

  1. Provide the published video link to whomever you want to share the unlisted version with.
  2. You may watch the video without having a Google account. Thus, the video can still be viewed even if the individual you shared the link needs to be signed into his Google account.
  3. The links to your videos can be shared and reshared in several ways by others who possess them. They can forward it to their friends or post it on social media.

However, you can alter the settings to Private if you don’t want your pals to share it again.

When sharing another person’s unlisted video on social media, you may get a notice on YouTube that reads, “This video is unlisted.” Before sharing an unlisted video, please give it some thought.

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Conclusion

There are many conveniences and comforts to having unlisted videos. They might significantly increase your available storage space and safeguard your privacy.

Additionally, YouTube unlisted videos are the best option if you don’t want to remove outdated videos from your account or if you want your loved ones to be able to see them as precious memories.

In a nutshell, every kind of video setting—public, private, or unlisted—has its profits and features. It is, therefore, your task to assess your situation and select the best option for you as per your present requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an unlisted YouTube video mean?

A video that only appears in YouTube search results if someone has the link is known as unlisted. It is only shareable and can be viewed by people who have access to the URL link of the video.

Who can watch the unlisted videos on YouTube?

An unlisted video is accessible to anybody with the link. It appears for something other than the general audience in search results or on your YouTube channel.

Are videos that are unlisted visible in search results?

One can never find unlisted videos on YouTube or Google’s search results. These videos are usually viewed with the access of URLs. So, there is never a result in search results.

How to make a YouTube video unlisted?

To make a YouTube video unlisted, log in to your YouTube channel; you can change privacy settings under the ‘visibility’ section of your account and make a video unlisted.

How to share a YouTube video that is unlisted?

Sharing an unlisted video is easier if you have a URL. You can view and further pass on the video with the URL.

Can someone view an unlisted YouTube video?

Anyone with the link can see unlisted videos and playlists. Your channel homepage's Videos tab will not display your unlisted videos. Additionally, if someone adds your unlisted video to a public playlist, it will appear in YouTube's search results.

What distinguishes unlisted from private YouTube videos

There are two distinctions between private and unlisted videos: To see the unlisted video, you do not require a YouTube account. Anyone with access to the video URL can view this. There is a sharing cap of 25 for private video.

Is YouTube's unlisted video visible to the public?

Unlisted videos are accessible exclusively through the URL and won't appear in search results. Unless the owner of the videos decides to change the setting and make it public, but apart from that nobody has access to unlisted videos on search results.

Do YouTube unlisted videos become private?

YouTube gives a feature to change your video-viewer settings anytime. You can modify your video's privacy settings from unlisted to private anytime. Later, if you wish to make it public, even that’s possible.

Do views of unlisted videos add up to your overall YouTube views?

No, views on unlisted videos do not contribute to the overall view count or watch hours for your YouTube channel. Views for unlisted videos do not count toward your total channel count, but they will be recorded as views for that particular video who has access to it.

Is it possible to monetize unlisted videos?

It is possible to monetize unlisted videos. It can generate limited funds in the ratio of the audience who has access to your unlisted videos. However, Public videos might garner more attention and views, increasing their earnings.

Can viewers of unlisted videos leave comments?

Unlisted videos can generate feedback from people who have the URL links. Users can leave comments on unlisted videos if the owner hasn't prohibited comments.

Can my unlisted video be made public or private later?

Yes, YouTube offers different settings, and this way, one can make their videos private, public, and unlisted as per their choice and need.

Is there a count to have unlisted videos on my YouTube account?

No, You can clearly have an unlimited number of unlisted videos on your account, and you can even share the URL with unlimited people as well.

Is it possible to put unlisted videos on a playlist that is public?

These videos will then appear on search results as well as can be visible to anyone with playlist access. So, yes, it is definitely possible to make unlisted videos public.

What happens if I post a link to an unlisted video on social media and later make it private?

After sharing the URL to an unlisted video, if you change it to private, those who previously had access will no longer be able to see it unless you give them special permission. The video is private; thus, clicking the link will take users to an error page.

Samuel B. Gillham
Written By Samuel B. Gillham

As the digital age rapidly unfolds, Samuel B. Gillham remains a pivotal figure for many aspiring to grasp its depths. His insights, derived from a vast reservoir of experience, touch upon the fine balance of technological prowess and personal evolution. Samuel offers more than just tech expertise; he crafts narratives that inspire growth. His adeptness in seamlessly merging the realms of SEO, blog...

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