This 500-word guide emerged from attempts to help myself upload and share a private video on YouTube.
Frankly, this type of tech support writing is not something we do here. The site is about the philosophy of happiness, life hacks based on science, and positive psychology.
But since I had to read a lot of fluff to understand the whole process, here is a precise, 2-minute guide that resulted.
Let’s see how to upload a private video on YouTube so that no one can watch it unless you explicitly allow them to.
How To Upload A Private Video On YouTube
It’s easy. First, have a video ready (let’s say it’s MyVidYT.mp4).
- Go to YouTube Studio (https://studio.youtube.com/).
- Your Channel Dashboard will open up. Of course, you should be logged in to your Gmail account linked to your YouTube channel.
- Click the Upload Video button on the upper right hand (a thick upward arrow with a dash under).
- In the box that opens up, click Select Files and select MyVidYT.mp4 (or any video) to upload. Fill in the details (title, description, etc.)
- Click Next. Here you can add subtitles, etc. Click Next to reach the Checks (YouTube checks if any Copyright issues are there with your video). Click Next.
- Important: The “Visibility” section opens. Here, choose “Private” under the Save or publish. Your private video cannot be viewed by anyone apart from those that you permit.
- Click on Share privately link, and a dialog box will open where you can enter the email addresses of those (up to fifty people) you want to share your video. Tip: Put in your email to get a reminder. Click Done.
- Click Save, and you’ll see a small popup saying, “This video is only visible to you.”
Occasionally, you may want to share a private video you uploaded earlier. To do so, Go to your YouTube Studio, Content (on the left hand), and the video you want to share.
- On your YouTube channel, click the Content on the left panel. You’ll find your video there, with Visibility marked as Private (an eye crossed out with a backslash).
- Hover your mouse over the video, and you’ll see 5 options in a popup – Details, Analytics, Comments, View on YouTube, and Options (as 3 dots).
- Click on the Options (3 dots). It will show a popup with Edit title and description, Get shareable link, etc.
- Click Get Shareable link and your link will be copied (you’ll see a popup that says, “Link copied to clipboard”). Share the link with anyone you want.
Final Words
Uploading private videos on YouTube is a great option for sharing them with your chosen people.
- If it’s a video of a product or service you made for your business, you can keep the video private and share the link only with your clients.
- If it’s a family video, you can keep it private and share it with your loved ones only.
- Finally, you can make your private videos public at a later date, if you’d like to.
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Author Bio: Written by Sandip Roy — medical doctor, psychology writer, and happiness researcher. Founder and Chief Editor of The Happiness Blog. Writes on mental health, happiness, positive psychology, mindfulness, and philosophy (especially Stoicism).
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