How to Delete a Playlist in YouTube Mobile

Organizing your saved videos on YouTube is a great way to keep track of content you enjoy or plan to watch. However, over time, you might find yourself with playlists you no longer need. Whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android device, deleting a YouTube playlist on the mobile app is a straightforward process. This guide will walk you through the steps.

How to Delete Playlists on Mobile

Deleting Playlists You’ve Created:

If you’ve personally created a playlist, removing it is quick and easy:

1. Open the YouTube App: Launch the YouTube application on your mobile device.
2. Go to Your Library: Tap on the “You” button located at the bottom right of the screen.
3. Access Your Playlists: Under your profile information, you’ll see a “Playlists” section. Tap on “View all” to see a complete list of your saved playlists.
4. Select the Playlist: Tap on the specific playlist you wish to delete.
5. Open the Options Menu: Once inside the playlist, look for the three vertical dots (menu icon) in the top-right corner of the screen and tap on them.
6. Delete the Playlist: From the dropdown menu, select “Delete playlist”.
7. Confirm Deletion: A confirmation prompt will appear. Tap “Delete” to permanently remove the playlist.

Dealing with Auto-Generated Playlists (Like “Watch Later”):

YouTube automatically creates certain playlists, such as the “Watch Later” playlist. You’ll notice that for these types of playlists, the direct “Delete playlist” option is missing. This is because these are system-generated and cannot be deleted in the same way as user-created playlists.

However, you can effectively remove these playlists from your view by emptying them:

1. Open Your Playlists: Follow steps 1-3 above to access your list of playlists.
2. Select the Auto-Generated Playlist: Tap on the “Watch Later” playlist (or any other auto-generated playlist you want to “remove”).
3. Remove Watched Videos (for “Watch Later”): If it’s the “Watch Later” playlist, you might see an option like “Remove watched videos”. Tapping this and confirming will clear out videos you’ve already viewed.
4. Remove Videos Individually: For all videos remaining in the auto-generated playlist, you’ll need to remove them individually. Tap on the three vertical dots next to each video and select “Remove from Watch Later” (or the relevant playlist name).
5. Refresh Your Library (If Needed): Once you’ve removed all videos, the playlist might still appear temporarily. Try navigating to a different section of the app (like “Home”) and then back to your “Library” or even closing and reopening the YouTube app. This should refresh the list and potentially remove the empty playlist from view.

Privacy Settings for Playlists:

It’s worth noting that both user-created and auto-generated playlists (even if you can’t delete the latter directly) have privacy settings. You can set your playlists to:

• Public: Anyone can find and view your playlist.
• Private: Only you can see your playlist.
• Unlisted: Anyone with the direct link to the playlist can view it.

You can adjust these settings when creating a playlist or by tapping the three dots menu on an existing playlist and selecting “Edit.” This ensures that even if a playlist still exists in your library, you have control over who can see it.

Conclusion

By following these instructions, you can effectively manage and declutter your YouTube playlists on your mobile device, keeping your saved videos organized and relevant to your current interests. For your own creations, a direct deletion is just a few taps away. While auto-generated playlists require the extra step of removing individual videos, the end result is a cleaner, more organized YouTube library. Remember too that privacy settings offer another layer of control over who sees your curated video selections.