Playlists and Watch later
Save videos to Watch later or to your own playlists from any watch page or Short. Reorder, rename and share public or unlisted playlists.
Playlists keep videos together. Every account has a private Watch later list. You can also make up to 200 playlists of your own, each holding up to 5,000 videos, and choose who can see each one.
Save a video to a playlist
- Open the video's watch page and press the three-dot menu under the player. On a Short, press Save in the buttons beside the video.
- Choose Save to playlist. A small window lists Watch later and your playlists.
- Tick a playlist to add the video, or untick it to take the video out. Each change is saved straight away.
- To start a new list, press New playlist, type a name, choose who can see it and press Create. The video is added to it at once.
The three-dot menu also has Save to Watch later, a one-click shortcut. Choose it again to take the video off the list. If you are not signed in, saving takes you to the sign-in page first.
Which videos you can save
You can save any public or unlisted video you can open, and your own private videos. Other people only ever see the public videos in your playlists. Private, removed and still-processing videos are left out for them.
Manage your playlists
Open Studio › Playlists and press a playlist to open it. There you can:
- Reorder videos: drag a video by its handle, or use the up and down arrow buttons. The new order is saved straight away.
- Remove a video: press the bin button on its row.
- Rename it or add a description: change the details and press Save details.
- Change who can see it: pick Public, Unlisted or Private and press Save details.
- Delete the playlist: press Delete playlist, then press it again to confirm. The videos themselves are not touched.
Watch later can be reordered and emptied, but it always stays private and cannot be renamed or deleted. You can also create a playlist on the same page, under New playlist.
Public, unlisted or private
| Visibility | Who can see it | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Anyone | Your channel's Playlists section, and its own page |
| Unlisted | Anyone with the link | Only on its own page. It is not shown on your channel and search engines are asked not to index it |
| Private | Only you | Only in your own Playlists list |
Playlists on your channel
Your channel page shows up to 12 of your most recently updated public playlists in its Playlists section. You can hide that section or move it in the Layout tab; see channel settings explained.
Share a playlist
Each playlist has its own page, with an address that starts with /playlist/. The page lists the videos in your chosen order, 100 to a page. Copy that address to share a public or unlisted playlist. A private playlist's page opens only for you.
Limits
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| Playlists per account (not counting Watch later) | 200 |
| Videos in one playlist | 5,000 |
| Playlist title | 2 to 120 characters |
| Description | Up to 500 characters |
Tips for playlists people use
- Group by topic, series or skill level, so each list answers one need.
- Give it a clear title with the words people would search for.
- Put the strongest video first, since it sets the tone for the rest.
- Keep a playlist current. Add new parts of a series as you publish them.
A good playlist helps viewers watch more of your work, which is one of the ideas in our guide to growing subscribers. For wider tips on getting found, read video SEO basics.