Being the only long-running video-streaming platform in the social media industry for so long, YouTube has truly come a long way.
To become a knowbie from a newbie, we have all seen tutorials for what not on the platform. And the two things that come to our mind to find out about literally anything is – Google or YouTube.
When you want to know about how you can do a certain hairstyle or how some recipe tastes: look for the tutorial or review on YouTube.
But what if you want to look up something and the videos for it are private? That must be problematic.
So if you don’t want to face the image given above on YouTube again, keep reading. In this article, we are going to discuss why you can’t see private YouTube videos and how you can watch them with or without the owner’s permission. So without further talking, let’s get straight into it!
Why Can’t you Watch Private Videos on YouTube?
Some YouTubers set their privacy settings as private. And so, the users can only watch private videos if the link of the channel or the videos gets shared. The private videos don’t appear in the search results, as they can’t be seen, and will not appear as a recommended video either. Also, Subscribers will not be informed when private videos get uploaded. You can watch an unlisted video if someone shares the said link with you, but accessing a private video requires you to contact its owner and request permission to watch it. Any private YouTube video can only be watched by any user who has been given permission by the uploader or the channel owner on the video setting page of the particular video. Doing this can also help business profiles to post their videos ahead of time which comes in pretty useful during a campaign move. Going public with the video can be done just at the right time and can be considered a good strategy as well.
How to Watch Private Videos on YouTube?
There are some ways by which you can stream private YouTube videos on YouTube. And so we have got some easy-to-understand methods for you that can help you out.
With Access or Permission
It’s easy to watch the videos on YouTube through the channel owner or the YouTuber’s permission:
- Get in touch with the video owner and request them to send you the link to the video that you wish to watch.
- And if they reach back to you and send you the link, then you can watch the video.
However, sometimes even after getting the link, we face problems in watching the private video. So, it can be due to the following reasons:
- Make sure that you have a valid and authentic YouTube account.
- You have more than one account on YouTube.
- The video might get open only with a special link that is to be shared by the owner.
Without Access or Permission
Follow the steps given below to watch private videos on YouTube without the channel owner or the YouTuber’s permission:
- Go to the private video that you wish to watch.
- Remove delete watch? From its URL.
- Then the result will be something like this: https://www.youtube.com/v=nhSRe5UbCIY
- Now press the Enter key.
- The use of this method will help the private video be unlocked, and you will be able to see it in the full window without signing in.
Note: The steps mentioned above might not work for all the users.
Steps to Watch Private Videos Without Signing in
If you have previously watched videos, and now they are marked as private, then follow the steps given below:
- Use a utility named VideoCacheView to get the video that was downloaded to your cache.
- Then the video will be turned into a format such as Мреg-Dаsh.
- After that, use a software named GРАС to convert the video into an МР4 format.
- Using the Video Сасhе View utility, you can рlау thе сасhеd version оf thе рrіvаtе video.
Apart from the above-mentioned methods, you can also try using YouTube Video downloader sites.
How to Share a Private Video?
To share a private video on YouTube privately, you can do it easily via sharing the link through email. Follow the steps given below to know how:
- Go to your profile icon on YouTube.
- Then select Content from the menu on the left side of the page.
- Go to the video that you want to share and tap on its privacy-selected option (Private, Public, or Unlisted).
- Tap on the selected option’s downward arrow, and you will see the option to Share Privately.
- Then press it and enter the email ID of the user that you want to share the video with and tick the box for Notify via email and tap on OK.
- You will be informed about whom you have shared the video with and then save the changes by pressing Save.
Now your video’s privacy settings won’t be impacted by sharing the video privately with the other user.
YouTube Private, Public, and Unlisted Videos
While uploading a video to YouTube, the user has the option to change the privacy settings for that video to Private, Public, or Unlisted.
- Private– It means only those that you have invited can view the video, and the video will not appear under any search results or your recommended video lists. The users must have their own YouTube accounts logged in, and the maximum number is 50 usernames. If you try to share it with someone who wasn’t invited, they will not be able to view it or connect to it.
- Public – It is the default setting which means anybody can see your video. It appears in recommended videos and search results and anyone from the public can view it.
- Unlisted – Unlisted means your video will not come up in search results or on your channel either. Only those selective people who have the link can view it. You can share the link with anyone, even those who do not have a YouTube account/username. This type of video could still be seen by anyone, but only if they get the link.
Note: Even if your video is already uploaded, you can still change the privacy settings for each video as well as DELETE your videos permanently. Go to your video manager under the drop-down menu, and change to whatever privacy settings you want.
FAQs
Ans: Yes, a private video on YouTube can get shared privately by the steps given in the article above.
Ans: In order to watch the video that has been shared by the video’s owner via mail, the invitee has to do just one simple step to view the video: Click on the thumbnail of the three dots given in the mail. And that’s it.