You can upload a video on YouTube for the whole world to see, but sometimes you just want to share a video with a more limited audience due to privacy reasons. For this purpose, YouTube offers the “Private” video upload option.
The “Private” upload option comes with some restrictions. The private link can be only shared with up to 25 people using their email address, and they need to have a YouTube account to see the video. This is a private link for demonstration.
In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to upload a private video and also make an already published video, private.
Method #1: Upload a Private Video
To upload a private video, open YouTube and click on “Upload” located at the top right corner next to search bar.
You will see an option to upload a video using “Open” dialog or drag and drop the video right in the middle to upload. Below, you will see a drop down menu that should be set to “Public”. Click on it and from the menu select “Private”. Now, any video you will upload will be private.
Just select any of the available methods to upload the video. Once uploaded, you will see a drop down menu on the left with status “Private”, and below it you will see a text field where you can add people with whom you would like to share the video.
You can add people from your Google+ circles or just add their email address to share the video. Remember, you are only allowed to share video with up to 25 people and once shared with a single email address, it cannot be reverted.
When your are done configuring, click on “Done” located at top left corner of the window and video will be shared.
Method #2: Make Published Videos Private
If you already uploaded a video in public status, then you can also make it private or vice versa. Click on main menu button located next to YouTube Logo (with three horizontal lines icon). From the menu, click on “My Channel” to access all your Channel settings.
Here, you will find an option of “Video Manager” located at top under the search bar, click on it. On the next page, you will see all your uploaded videos, click on the “Edit” button on the video of which you would like to change status.
All settings related to the video will open up, below the video you will see a drop down menu with “Public/Private” written on it. Just select the desired option from the drop down menu and click on “Save changes” at the top right corner to save it.
There are total three stages where you can change the video status. Before the upload, after the upload and once the video is published. So even if you didn’t change the status at first stage, you still change it any other step.
If you have any questions or would like to add any further information, let us know in the comments.
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