There are three visibility options for each video you upload to YouTube: Private, Unlisted, and Public. You choose this setting when first uploading, but can always change it later as well.
Here’s how each visibility status is different from one another:
| Private | Unlisted | Public | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can be found via search engine | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Can be found via YouTube search or browsing | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Can be viewed from a shared direct link | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Can be embedded and viewed by others | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Private to you only | ✔️ | As long as you haven’t shared the link | ❌ |
So to summarize:
- Private – only you can view
- Unlisted – viewers must have a link to the video to view
- Public – anyone can search for and find your video