You can delete all your YouTube videos through your channel settings, but YouTube does not have a single "delete all" button — you delete them one at a time or in batches
If you want to remove every video from your channel, you have two realistic paths: delete them manually through YouTube Studio (which takes time but gives you control), or delete your entire channel (which removes everything instantly but is permanent). Most people choose the manual route because it lets you keep your channel and account while removing only the videos.
The manual deletion process takes longer the more videos you have, but it is straightforward. You go to YouTube Studio, find each video in your uploads list, and delete it. If you have dozens or hundreds of videos, this will take hours spread across multiple sessions. If you have only a handful, you can finish in minutes.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube Studio lets you delete videos one at a time from your uploads list, and you can delete multiple videos in the same session without waiting between deletions.
- Deleted videos disappear from your channel immediately, but YouTube keeps records of the deletion for a short time in case you need to contact support.
- If you delete your entire channel instead of individual videos, the action is permanent after 30 days and cannot be undone.
- Videos that are monetized, part of a playlist, or embedded on other websites will still delete, but the embeds will break and any revenue stops immediately.
How to delete videos one at a time through YouTube Studio
Open YouTube Studio by going to youtube.com, clicking your profile picture in the top right, and selecting YouTube Studio. On the left menu, click Content, then Videos. You will see a list of all your uploads with thumbnails, titles, and view counts.
Find the video you want to delete, click the three-dot menu icon next to it, and select Delete forever. A confirmation box will appear asking if you are sure. Click Delete to confirm. The video is now gone from your channel and will not appear in search results or recommendations. Repeat this for each video you want to remove.
If you have many videos, you can speed this up by opening YouTube Studio in one browser tab and keeping your list of videos to delete in another. Delete one, refresh the list, and move to the next. There is no limit to how many you can delete in a single day, though the process itself is manual.
Deleting videos in batches using the selection tool
YouTube Studio has a checkbox next to each video title that lets you select multiple videos at once. Click the checkbox next to the first video you want to delete, then hold Shift and click the checkbox next to the last video in the range you want to select. All videos between those two will be checked.
Once you have selected the videos you want, a menu will appear at the top of the list with options including Delete. Click it, confirm the deletion, and all selected videos will be removed together. This is faster than deleting one at a time if you want to remove a large group.
Be careful with batch selection — make sure you have selected only the videos you actually want to delete. YouTube will ask you to confirm, but the confirmation is a simple yes-or-no for the entire batch, not a review of each video.
What happens to your channel after you delete videos
When you delete a video, it stops appearing on your channel page, in your uploads list, and in YouTube search results within minutes. Anyone who tries to visit the video's direct link will see a message saying the video is no longer available. Subscribers who had the video in their watch later list will see it marked as unavailable.
If the video was embedded on another website — like in a blog post or forum — the embed will break and show a black box with a message that the video is unavailable. The website owner will need to remove the embed code themselves; you cannot fix it from YouTube's side.
Your channel statistics will update to reflect the deletion. Your total video count will drop, and any views, likes, or comments on that video will no longer count toward your channel totals. If the video was monetized, any revenue it earned stops, and future revenue from that video is impossible.
Deleting your entire channel instead of individual videos
If you want to remove everything at once rather than delete videos one by one, you can delete your entire YouTube channel. This removes all videos, playlists, comments, and your channel page itself. Go to YouTube Studio, click your profile picture, select Settings, then Account, then Advanced Settings. Scroll down and click Delete channel.
YouTube will ask you to confirm and will show you what will be deleted. You will have 30 days to change your mind. During those 30 days, your channel and videos are hidden from public view, but you can restore them by going back to the same menu and clicking Restore channel. After 30 days, the deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.
Deleting your channel also deletes your Google Account's connection to YouTube, but it does not delete your Gmail account or other Google services. If you use the same email for Gmail, Google Drive, or other Google products, those will remain active.
Things to know before you delete videos
If you have videos that are part of a YouTube playlist, deleting the video will remove it from the playlist automatically. The playlist itself will remain, but with fewer videos in it. You do not need to manually remove videos from playlists before deleting them.
Videos that are monetized will stop earning revenue the moment they are deleted. If you are waiting to hit a certain earnings threshold, deleting videos will not refund money you have already earned, but it will prevent any future earnings from those videos.
If you are deleting videos because you want to start fresh but keep your channel, consider making your old videos private instead of deleting them. Private videos stay on your account but do not appear on your channel page or in search results. You can change them back to public later if you change your mind. To make a video private, click the three-dot menu, select Details, change the visibility to Private, and save.
If you accidentally delete a video
YouTube does not have an undo button for deleted videos, but you may be able to recover one if you contact YouTube Support within a short time of deletion. Go to youtube.com/account, click Help & Support, then Contact Us. Explain that you deleted a video by mistake and provide the video title or URL if you remember it.
Support cannot always recover deleted videos, especially if several days have passed. Your best protection is to download your videos before deleting them. You can download your own videos from YouTube Studio by clicking the three-dot menu, selecting Download, and saving the file to your computer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete all my videos without deleting my channel?
Yes. Deleting videos one at a time or in batches through YouTube Studio removes the videos but keeps your channel active. Your channel name, description, and subscriber list remain. Only delete your entire channel if you want to remove everything including the channel page itself.
How long does it take to delete a video?
The deletion is instant from your perspective — the video disappears from your channel page within minutes. However, it may take longer for the video to fully disappear from YouTube's search index and recommendations, sometimes up to 24 hours.
Will deleting videos affect my channel's search ranking?
Removing videos will not hurt your channel's ranking for other videos that remain. However, if those videos were bringing traffic to your channel, losing them means losing that traffic source.
What if I have thousands of videos?
Deleting thousands of videos manually will take many hours across multiple sessions. If you want to remove everything quickly, deleting your entire channel is faster. If you want to keep your channel but remove all videos, you will need to commit time to the manual process or contact YouTube Support to discuss options.
Can I schedule videos to delete automatically?
YouTube does not have a feature to schedule video deletions for a future date. You must delete videos manually when you are ready. If you want videos to disappear on a specific date, you can set them to private beforehand and then delete them on that date.