YouTube privacy settings on iPhone

Your YouTube account is linked to a Google account, and data security directly depends on the security of this account. Therefore, in addition to your YouTube settings, you are advised to check the settings of your Google account.

What for: So you don't get hacked.

YouTube uses your Google account password to sign you in. If you use a short and simple password, cybercriminals can guess it and hijack your account. A long and complex password is more secure. Use a strong password that:

• Is at least 8 characters long;
• Contains lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters ($, @, etc.);
• Is not an actual word or easy-to-guess phrase;
• Is not the same as your passwords for any other accounts;
• Does not consist of information that strangers could easily find out (your name, date of birth, pet's name, and so forth — or those of your friends or relatives).

To change the password:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap Google Account.

Your Google account settings page opens. To continue the password change process, follow our guide to changing your Google account password.

What for: So you definitely don't get hacked.

Your YouTube account is linked to your Google account. You can enable two-factor authentication in the settings. Every time you try to log in from a new device, the system will ask for a one-time code. A notification will be sent to all gadgets that are already logged in to that account. This will help improve your Google account security.

To enable two-factor authentication, follow our guide to configuring your Google account.

What for: To keep Google from knowing what you've searched for or watched.

Google saves data about your search queries in YouTube and a list of the videos that you watched. The service uses this information to curate your feed and create targeted ads, and it may share this data with third parties, such as Google partners. If you do not want the service to collect this information, you can disable the watch history and delete any previously accumulated data.

To delete your search and watch history:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Tap Manage all history;
4. In the window that opens, select the Controls tab;
5. Tap Turn Off;
6. Tap Pause;
7. To delete your previous YouTube history, tap Delete old activity, select a time range, and tap Delete;
8. Tap OK.

Alternatively, you can delete your YouTube search and watch history in your Google account settings.

Downside: After you turn off search and watch history, your feed will stop showing recommended videos.

YouTube offers an option to automatically delete your activity history after a certain period of time. To use this feature, your watch history must be enabled. Here is how to set up auto-deletion:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Tap Manage all history;
4. In the window that opens, select the Controls tab;
5. Tap Auto-delete;
6. Select a time range and tap Next;
7. Tap Confirm and then OK.

What for: So you can avoid running into unwanted people.

If a YouTube user is leaving offensive comments, sending you spam, or is otherwise annoying you, you can block this person. They will not be notified, but they will be unable to view your profile, leave comments under your videos, or write messages in live chats. All existing comments from this user under your videos will be hidden.

To block a user:

1. Open the user's YouTube page;
2. Tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the screen;
3. Select Hide user from my channel;
4. Tap Hide user.

You can also block a user via a comment they left under your video:

1. Tap the three-dot button to the right of the comment;
2. Select Hide from channel and confirm.

You can also block a user in a live stream chat:

1. Tap a comment by the user you want to block;
2. Tap Block.

To unblock a user:

1. Open the user's YouTube page;
2. Tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the screen;
3. Select Unhide user from my channel;
4. Tap Unhide user.

What for: So that you do not see any spam or offensive remarks in comments.

By default, all YouTube users can leave comments under your videos. YouTube automatically hides and flags comments it considers offensive or inappropriate for your review. If spammers, trolls, and other unwanted individuals still appear under your videos, you can disable comments or change your moderation settings for future posts.

Use our guide for configuring the YouTube browser version.

Options to restrict comments are also available in the YouTube Studio companion app. You can download and install it individually. It contains a plethora of content management tools.

What for: To prevent your name from appearing next to offensive content.

Other YouTube users can mention your profile name with a link to it in their posts, video titles and descriptions, community posts, and comments. To prevent this from happening in an inappropriate context, disable mentions:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Open the Privacy section;
4. Turn off Allow users to mention me.

What for: So that strangers do not know too much about you.

The description of your channel might contain information that could be used to easily find out your address, place of work or study, and other information about you. If you have any haters or overly enthusiastic fans, they could use this information to ruin your life. For this reason, you are advised to delete personal information from the description:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap View channel under your name;
3. Tap the pencil on the right under the channel name;
4. Remove any private information;
5. Tap Save.

What for: To control who is allowed to watch your videos.

By default, anyone can watch any videos you upload to YouTube. If a video is not intended for a large audience, you can limit its visibility at any time.

To restrict access to an already uploaded video:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap View channel under your name;
3. Tap Manage videos;
4. Tap the three dots icon to the right of the video name and select Edit;
5. Tap Visibility and select an option:
   • Public means that all internet users will be able to watch the video;
   • Unlisted means that only people who have a link to the video will be able to watch it;
   • Private means that only you and the YouTube users that you approve will be able to watch the video.
6. Tap Save.

To restrict access to a video while it is being uploaded to the website:

1. On the Add details step, tap Visibility and select a restriction level;
2. Tap Upload.

Note that access by link does not guarantee the video will stay private. If you share a video with a user, that user can forward the link to other people or post it on social media. Also bear in mind that approved users can record your video from their own screen and publish it on a different website. Therefore, if a video clip contains confidential information, it is probably safer not to post it on YouTube at all.

What for: To prevent strangers from knowing what you watch.

Your YouTube profile page contains information about your subscriptions. If you do not want other users to see this information, block access to it:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap View channel under your name;
3. Tap the pencil on the right under the channel name;
4. Turn on Privacy.

What for: To prevent videos based on fleeting interests from cluttering your feed.

If you're about to watch a video on a topic you definitely don't want appearing in your feed or recommendations again, use incognito mode. This will prevent any of your activity from affecting your recommendations, feed, or ads.

To turn on incognito mode:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Under your channel name, tap Turn on Incognito. You'll be redirected to the Home screen, with a black stripe at the bottom saying, "You're incognito".

To turn off incognito mode:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap Turn off Incognito.

Keep in mind that while you are in incognito mode, YouTube acts just like you've signed out. You're not able to upload videos, like content, or leave comments and posts. The app won't take your activity in normal mode into account when generating picks and recommendations. If you are inactive in the app for 90 minutes, incognito mode will turn off automatically.

What for: To avoid distractions.

YouTube may show notifications about the actions of other users on your channel and about events related to your account and subscriptions. These notifications can be really annoying and distracting.

To turn off all push notifications at once:

1. Open Settings on your device;
2. Locate and select YouTube in the list of apps;
3. Tap Notifications;
4. Disable the Allow notifications option.

To turn off notifications selectively:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Tap Notifications;
4. Disable notifications you don't need:
   • Subscriptions;
   • Channel settings;
   • Recommended videos;
   • Recommended ways to create;
   • Activity on my channel;
   • Post suggestions;
   • Activity on my comments;
   • Mentions;
   • Others reusing my content;
   • Product updates;
   • Promotional content and offerings;
   • Watch on TV;
   • Disable sounds and vibrations;
   • New badges.

That screen also contains a Scheduled digest option. It allows you to receive all your daily notifications in a single digest once a day at the time of your choosing. To activate the digest:

1. Tap Scheduled digest under Notifications;
2. Select a time for receiving digests;
3. Tap OK.

What for: To keep your peace of mind.

In Restricted Mode, YouTube hides content that may be considered provocative or ethically questionable — for example, videos containing violence, drugs, or profanity. While this feature isn't always perfect, it significantly reduces the amount of undesirable content in your results.

To enable Restricted Mode:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Select General;
4. Enable Restricted Mode.

Downside: Restricted Mode algorithms can sometimes make mistakes and hide perfectly harmless videos. Additionally, this mode is not activated for your account as a whole, but only for the app on your specific device. If you use YouTube on multiple devices, you must enable this option separately on each one.

What for: To take breaks on time.

This feature helps prevent excessive YouTube use. When you're watching videos back-to-back, it's easy to lose track of time. Break reminders display an in-app notification suggesting you take a pause to rest, switch to other tasks, or simply give your eyes a break from the screen.

To activate the reminders:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Select Time management;
4. Turn on Remind me to take a break;
5. Select an interval that works for you:
   • Every 30 minutes;
   • Every 45 minutes;
   • Every 1 hour;
   • Customize: Set an interval manually and tap OK.

What for: To go to bed on time.

If you tend to lose track of time while watching videos, you can set a timer that reminds you when it's time for bed. This will help you step away from YouTube and get proper rest from the screen.

To turn on sleep mode:

1. Tap your profile picture in the lower right corner of the screen;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner. You will land in the Settings section;
3. Select Time management;
4. Turn on Remind me when it's bedtime;
5. Select an option that works for you:
   • When my phone's bedtime mode is on;
   • Use custom schedule.
6. Tap OK.

When the break reminder appears, choose one of the following options:

• Tap Remind Me Again and continue watching. A new notification will appear in 15 minutes;
• Tap the X in the corner of the window. Break reminders will be disabled for 24 hours — or until the next time your phone's bedtime mode is activated.

Additionally, YouTube has a feature to automatically stop playback on a specific video. This is useful if you want to remind yourself to take a break or if you expect to fall asleep while watching. To activate the sleep timer:

1. Open the video;
2. Tap the cogwheel in the upper right corner of the screen;
3. Select More;
4. Tap Sleep timer and set a time interval.