Is There a Way to Make Your Activity on YouTube Private?
By Alan Sembera
You can keep your YouTube activities private in several ways, depending on how you use the website. The simplest way to remain anonymous is to sign out of your Google account before viewing a YouTube video so that Google doesn't link your activity to your account. Other options include changing your privacy settings so that your likes and subscriptions aren't visible to other users, and changing your history settings so that YouTube stops recording your search and viewing history.
Privacy and History Settings
To change your privacy settings, click your avatar on the YouTube website and select "YouTube Settings." Select the "Privacy" tab, and then changes the settings to hide your subscriptions and likes. Next, go to your YouTube home page and select the "History" tab. From here, you can delete your saved viewing history and prevent YouTube from saving the names of other videos you watch. Click your avatar and then "Video Manager" and select the "Search History" tab to find the options for deleting your past YouTube searches and preventing the site from saving future searches.
Video Uploads
If you upload videos to YouTube, you can change the videos' privacy settings to control who can see the videos. Setting a video to Private enables you to limit the audience to select individuals. Setting a video as Unlisted enables you to share a link to the video that others can use to view it, but the video won't appear in searches or on your channel.
References
Writer Bio
Alan Sembera began writing for local newspapers in Texas and Louisiana. His professional career includes stints as a computer tech, information editor and income tax preparer. Sembera now writes full time about business and technology. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Texas A&M University.