



In 2010, YouTube introduced a new option of unlisted videos. Unlisted videos are like the ordinary public videos but won't appear in YouTube's search results (except in playlists). Unlisted videos differ from private videos in that anyone can watch the video if they know the URL, or know of a webpage that links to or embeds that video.







There are various reasons for unlisting a video. Some official accounts of celebrities, bands, brands and organisations, might decide to unlist to allow their subscribers the first view of a new video, to declutter their channel, or provide a relatively hard to find 'Easter egg' or treat for their subscribers.



Some video uploaders might have their videos unlisted because they think the videos would be of little interest to those likely to stumble upon them through a search e.g. software tutorials, video game footage, animations etc. Some may decide to unlist for privacy reasons if the video is aimed solely at an individual, family, or organisation (such videos are not permitted on Unlisted Videos).



The following is a general guideline on what is and isn't allowed Unlisted Videos.



Permitted (at least in general): Unlisted videos from official accounts of celebrities (including 'YouTube celebrities'), bands, brands, companies, organisations etc; videos that were unlisted for no apparent reason other than to declutter; videos that are useful and/or interesting to others, that wouldn't harm anyone or infringe on anyone's privacy if shared. Forbidden: Videos that were clearly unlisted for privacy reasons (such as videos aimed at friends, family, a workplace, etc); unlisted videos that are accompanied by a statement or an indication that the uploader prefers that the videos aren't shared widely; videos found listed elsewhere (unless the unlisted video was the original version); unlisted videos that are likely to become public in the near future; videos intended to be exclusively for paid subscribers / donors; videos which shouldn't even be on YouTube e.g. adult videos, videos with illegal content, videos which infringe on copyrights etc.



Inserting the statement 'BLOCK UNLISTEDVIDEOS.COM' (lower case also works) into the YouTube description of an unlisted video, will block it from being submitted to Unlisted Videos.







