How to Create a Private YouTube Video

Updated on:

May 4, 2026

By:

Use this interactive demo to learn how to upload and set a YouTube video to private.

Quick summary

This demo walks you through how to create a private YouTube video using YouTube Studio, from uploading your file to setting visibility to Private and sharing it with specific people.

Steps

Go to studio.youtube.com and click Create > Upload videos, then select your video file.
Complete the title and description fields on the details page.
In the Visibility section, select Private; optionally click Share privately to grant access to specific people.
Enter the email address, check Notify via email, and click Done.
Click Save to publish the video as private.

📌 Why this matters

Setting a YouTube video to private is essential for creators who want to share content with a select audience — such as clients, team members, or family — without making it publicly discoverable. YouTube Studio's private visibility feature gives you full control over who can view your content, preventing unauthorized access while still enabling easy sharing via email invitation. This is particularly valuable for businesses sharing internal training videos, creators previewing content before launch, or anyone managing sensitive video assets. Understanding how to correctly configure private video settings ensures your content reaches only the intended viewers.

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