The short answer is – it depends. Whether everyone can see your YouTube playlists or not depends on your account and playlist privacy settings. By default, YouTube playlists are public, which means anyone can view them. However, you can change the privacy settings to make your playlists unlisted or private if you don’t want them to be publicly visible.
Public Playlists
When you create a playlist on YouTube and do not change any settings, that playlist is considered “public” by default. This means that anyone who comes across your channel or profile can view the full contents of your public playlists.
Public playlists show up on your YouTube channel page and individual video pages. They are also discoverable through YouTube’s search feature and can show up in recommended videos. Essentially, public playlists have no privacy and are viewable by every YouTube user.
If you want your playlists to be fully visible and don’t mind if any random person can see what videos you’ve compiled, then you don’t need to change the default public setting.
Unlisted Playlists
YouTube allows you to change your playlists from public to “unlisted.” Unlisted means that the playlist won’t show up in YouTube’s search results or recommendations. The only way someone can view an unlisted playlist is if they have the direct URL link.
To make a playlist unlisted, go to the playlist, click the edit button, open the dropdown menu next to privacy settings and select “unlisted.” An unlisted playlist can only be viewed by people you share the link with.
Unlisted is a good option if you want to share your full playlist with a select group of people but don’t necessarily want it fully public. The playlist won’t show up on your channel, but anyone with the link can still view it.
Private Playlists
YouTube also gives you the option to make playlists completely private. A private playlist can only be seen by you and no one else on YouTube.
To make a playlist private, edit the playlist, go to the privacy dropdown menu and select “private.” Once you save the setting change, the playlist disappears from your channel page and cannot be accessed by anyone else.
Private playlists are helpful if you want to create video queues for yourself without making the contents publicly visible. You can add and remove videos as much as you want and the playlist remains private.
Checking Your Playlist Privacy Settings
You can check the privacy setting of your YouTube playlists at any time. Simply go to the playlist, click “edit,” and look at the privacy menu. This will tell you if the playlist is public, unlisted or private.
You can change the privacy setting as often as you want. So feel free to experiment between public, unlisted and private to find the right fit for each of your playlists.
Other Privacy Considerations
In addition to playlist privacy settings, there are a couple other YouTube account factors that affect who can see your playlists:
- Private Account – If your entire YouTube account is private, then none of your playlists will be visible to anyone, regardless of the playlist privacy setting.
- Age Restricted Videos – If a playlist contains age restricted videos, only logged in users 18+ will be able to view the full playlist.
So in summary, the default playlist setting on YouTube is public. But you have options like unlisted and private if you want more control over who can view your full playlists. Just be aware of the visibility settings to know how accessible your playlists are by others.
What About Playlist Visibility on the YouTube Mobile App?
The YouTube mobile app has its own playlist privacy controls that work in conjunction with, but are slightly different from, the website settings.
On the YouTube mobile app:
- Public playlists are fully visible in the Library tab to anyone who opens your channel.
- Unlisted playlists only show up in the Library tab for the channel owner.
- Private playlists are only visible to the channel owner in the Playlists tab.
So the YouTube mobile app gives you more granular control over which playlists are visible on your public channel page. You can use both the mobile app and website settings in combination to fine tune visibility.
Managing Playlist Privacy on YouTube Music
The YouTube Music app has its own approach to managing playlist privacy as well:
- Public – Playlists set to public on YouTube will be publicly visible and accessible by anyone in the YouTube Music library.
- Unlisted – Playlists unlisted on YouTube will be private and only visible to you in the YouTube Music library.
- Private – Playlists private on YouTube will only be visible to you in the YouTube Music app.
So YouTube Music essentially treats unlisted playlists the same as private. While private and unlisted YouTube playlists display differently across the website, mobile app and YouTube Music, the core privacy functionality remains the same.
Tips for Managing Your YouTube Playlists
Here are some tips to help you manage your YouTube playlist privacy:
- Use descriptive names that don’t reveal too much private information.
- Check that age restricted videos don’t show publicly.
- Use public for playlists you want to promote on your channel.
- Make collaborative playlists unlisted or private.
- Consider unlisted or private for videos you want to access across devices.
- Double check full visibility settings if you upload private content.
With the right settings, you can share as much or as little of your YouTube playlists as you want. The options for privacy give you plenty of control over who can view the contents of your personal or public compilations.
