Can People View My YouTube History?

YouTube tracks your viewing history and displays recently viewed videos so that you can easily find them again. Although other YouTube users can't see viewing history from your YouTube Channel page, someone who shares your computer might be able to sneak a peek at what you've viewed if you forgot to sign out of your YouTube account at the end of the session.

Checking Your YouTube Watch History

YouTube remembers the video clips you've viewed recently and displays them in the Watch History section of your account, which you can access by clicking "History" in the sidebar while you're logged in to your account. YouTube displays the video clips in reverse chronological order, with the preview thumbnail and title of the most recent videos at the top of the list.

When you hover the mouse over each video, you'll see an "X" appear. Click the "X" to remove any video from your Watch History on YouTube.

YouTube Channel Privacy

YouTube lets you share some of your online activity with the people who view your videos or subscribe to your channel's feed. From the privacy section of the Account Settings screen, you can choose which activities to share publicly, including your likes and channel subscriptions. However, your viewing history is private and there's no option to make it public. This means other YouTube users won't be able to see any record of your viewing history from your YouTube channel page.

Shared Computers

The family members or work colleagues who share your computer might be able to see your viewing history, but only if you forget to log out of your account when you're done viewing YouTube video clips or if they know your YouTube account password. Avoid this by changing your YouTube password regularly; select the "Change Password" option in the Overview section of your YouTube Account Settings screen. Also remember to log out of YouTube at the end of each session and disable the "Stay Signed In" check box when you log in to your account.

How To Delete History on YouTube

To further protect your privacy, delete the viewing history from YouTube by clicking the "Manage All History" link in the Watch History screen. This gives you several options to save or not to save:

• YouTube videos you watch
• Searches you have conducted on YouTube
• Voice and audio activity on YouTube.

Select "Turn Off" to disable all of these save options, or use the check boxes to select the ones you want to turn on or off.