What Does Unlisted Mean on YouTube

At Lillian Purge, we specialise in Local SEO Services and explain what does unlisted mean on youtube, to help you manage privacy and audience strategy with each upload.

When uploading a video to YouTube one of the first choices you have to make is its visibility. Public, private or unlisted. Many people understand public and private straight away, but unlisted often causes confusion. In my opinion unlisted is one of the most useful visibility settings on YouTube because it gives you control without completely locking the video away.

An unlisted video is a video that does not appear publicly on your YouTube channel or in search results, but can still be viewed by anyone who has the direct link. It sits in between public and private and is ideal for sharing content selectively without making it fully visible to everyone.

How unlisted videos work on YouTube

When a video is set to unlisted it behaves in a very specific way. The video is not searchable on YouTube and it does not appear on your channel homepage, playlists or recommendations. However the video is still hosted on YouTube’s servers and plays like a normal video for anyone who has the link.

Anyone with the direct URL can watch the video, share it or embed it on a website. This means you still get the benefit of YouTube’s video player and hosting without exposing the video publicly.

In my opinion this makes unlisted perfect for controlled distribution.

What unlisted videos are commonly used for

Unlisted videos are used in many practical situations, especially by businesses.

Sharing videos with clients or customers

If you want to send a video update, tutorial or walkthrough to a client without publishing it publicly, unlisted is ideal. You can email the link or share it privately.

Hosting videos on websites

Many businesses embed unlisted videos on their website. The video plays normally on the page but does not appear on the public YouTube channel.

Internal training or team content

Unlisted videos work well for onboarding, training or internal communications where you want easy access but not public exposure.

Reviewing videos before publishing

Creators often upload videos as unlisted first to check formatting, captions or feedback before making them public.

Gated content

Some businesses use unlisted videos for paid courses or members only areas where access is controlled through a website.

The difference between unlisted and private videos

Understanding the difference between unlisted and private is important.

Unlisted videos

• Anyone with the link can watch

• Can be embedded on websites

• Can be shared freely

• Not visible in search or on your channel

Private videos

• Only specific invited accounts can watch

• Cannot be shared freely

• Cannot be embedded publicly

• Used for highly restricted content

In my opinion unlisted is far more flexible for business use because it does not require managing email permissions.

Can unlisted videos be monetised?

Yes, unlisted videos can still be monetised if your channel is eligible for monetisation. Ads can run on unlisted videos and views still count towards your overall channel watch time.

However because the video is not discoverable, traffic depends entirely on how you share the link. In most cases unlisted videos are used for utility rather than revenue generation.

Do unlisted videos affect SEO or channel growth?

Unlisted videos do not contribute to public SEO in the same way as public videos because they do not appear in search results or recommendations. Views on unlisted videos still count towards your channel analytics, but they do not help you rank for keywords.

For this reason I believe unlisted videos should be used for support content, private sharing or embedded media rather than as part of your public content strategy.

Are unlisted videos truly private?

This is an important point. Unlisted does not mean secure. Anyone with the link can watch the video and share it with others. If the link is posted publicly then the video effectively becomes public even though it is not indexed by YouTube search.

If you need strict privacy you should use the private setting instead.

When you should use unlisted instead of public

You should consider unlisted when:

• the video is not intended for general audiences

• the content is specific to certain people

• the video supports another asset such as a website page

• you are testing or reviewing content

• the video is instructional rather than promotional

In my experience businesses that understand unlisted use it frequently because it keeps their channel clean and focused while still allowing video use where needed.

How to set a video as unlisted

Setting a video to unlisted is simple.

1. Go to YouTube Studio

2. Click Content

3. Select the video

4. Click Visibility

5. Choose Unlisted

6. Save changes

You can switch between public, unlisted and private at any time.

Bringing everything together

Unlisted videos give you flexibility without exposure. They allow you to host, share and embed videos while keeping your public channel focused and professional. In my opinion unlisted is one of the most useful visibility settings for businesses because it supports communication, training and client work without cluttering your public content.

We have also written in depth articles on what does subscribe mean on youtube and why can't i click on youtube videos as well as our YouTube Hub to give you further guidance.