Video sharing and messaging on YouTube

Video sharing and messaging on YouTube is in select countries/regions. It is not available to everyone at this time. Messages may be reviewed to make sure that they follow Community Guidelines and for safety reasons.

This feature lets you share videos, Shorts and live streams, and have conversations about them, directly on YouTube.

Feature availability

Video sharing and messaging on YouTube is available in the following countries/regions:

American Samoa Austria Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Guam Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia

Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Northern Mariana Islands Norway Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Romania Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland US Virgin Islands United Kingdom United States

You must be 18 years of age or older and signed in to a YouTube channel to share videos and to message on YouTube.

• Make sure that you verify your age.
• If you don't have a YouTube channel, learn how to create a channel.

To ensure your access to YouTube messaging and video sharing, verify that you're using the most current version of the YouTube app.

Note: This feature is currently only available for channel owners of brand accounts, not moderators or delegates. Learn how to check if you have a Brand Account.

Get started with video sharing and messaging on YouTube

Share when watching content

1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device.
2. Find the content that you want to share.
3. Tap the Share button.
4. Tap the contact that you want to message the video to or tap Invite to message on YouTube to send an invite through another app.

Invite others to share content, and accept invites sent by others

1. Tap Messages at the top right Invite to chat.
2. Share the invite link with whoever you want to invite.
3. The person who gets the message will have the option to allow or decline the messages.
4. If the message invite is accepted, you can share content and messages with that person directly on YouTube. If you have notifications turned on for YouTube, you'll get a notification that your invite has been accepted.

Each time that you get an invite from a new channel, you'll be asked whether to allow messages from them.

• If you tap Allow messaging, you'll be taken to the conversation.
• If you tap Not now, your channel info won't be shared with the sender, but you can choose to allow messages from the sender later by replying to shared content from them.

Note: Invite links are valid for seven days after creation. To get notifications from YouTube when someone shares content with you directly on YouTube, turn on your YouTube notifications within your device settings. Learn more about notifications on YouTube.

Turn on your notifications for video sharing and messages

1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device.
2. Tap You .
3. Tap Settings .
4. Tap Notifications .
5. Next to Video sharing and messages, toggle the bar to turn notifications on.

Manage video sharing and messaging

Send a new message and manage conversations

1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device.
2. Tap Messages at the top right.
3. Tap on a conversation to view it.

Unsend a message

1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device.
2. Tap Messages at the top right.
3. Tap on a conversation to view it.
4. Long press on a message that you'd like to unsend.
5. Tap Unsend.
6. Confirm by tapping Unsend again.

When you unsend a message, it will no longer be visible to both people in the chat. Bear in mind that the person who you sent it to may have already seen your message and will be able to see that a message was unsent.

Delete your conversation

Follow these steps to delete your entire conversation:

1. Long press on a conversation.
2. Tap the Menu .
3. Tap Delete.

Important: When you delete an entire conversation, the other channel will continue to see the conversation.

Error messages and what they mean

• 'Can't access link' – You must be located in an eligible country/region, be 18 years of age or older and be logged in to a YouTube channel with a Google Account to access video sharing and messaging. Learn how to create a YouTube channel.
• 'This feature isn't available' – This feature is not yet supported for all users.

Privacy and safety

Block a user

When you block someone, you will also no longer see their live chats and comments, or get their mentions. The channel that you've blocked will also no longer see your conversations on live chat or in comments, or receive your mentions.

As a creator, you'll no longer see blocked users' comments and live chats on your channel, but they'll still exist and be seen publicly. If you hide a channel, their comments won't show on your channel, including on your Comments page in YouTube Studio. It also prevents the channel from creating clips from your videos or live streams.

Creators and moderators can hide viewers from their channel in YouTube Studio or from a comment that a viewer left, or by moderating live chat.

The user will not be notified that you've blocked them, but will see that they can no longer message you. After you've blocked someone, your conversation with them will remain in your inbox, but you won't be able to message them. If you no longer want to see the conversation in your messages, you can delete the conversation.

Block someone from sharing videos and messaging

You can block a user from sharing videos and messaging you in two ways:

From your inbox

1. Open the YouTube app on your mobile device.
2. At the top right, tap Messages .
3. Tap the conversation with the person who you want to block.
4. In the top right-hand corner, tap the Menu Block messages .

From the panel

1. Long press the profile picture of an existing channel that you want to block.
2. Tap Block messages .

Unblock someone

There are three ways to unblock someone:

From your conversation

1. In the top-right corner of the conversation, tap More .
2. Tap Unblock .

From your Google Account

1. Go to myaccount.google.com/blocklist.
2. Tap the Remove button next to the person who you want to unblock.

From your settings

1. Tap your profile picture Settings.
2. Tap Privacy.
3. Tap Blocked contacts the Remove button next to the user that you want to unblock.

Report a conversation

You can report a conversation that violates our Community Guidelines.

1. Open the YouTube app.
2. Go to the conversation that you want to report.
3. Tap More Report conversation .
4. Select the reason why you want to report the conversation.
5. Tap Report.

Report a channel

You can report users, inappropriate background images or inappropriate profile avatars.

1. Sign in to YouTube.
2. Go to the channel page that you want to report.
3. Tap More in the channel description.
4. Tap Report user .
5. Select the option that best fits why you want to report the channel:

• Hide user from my channel
• Report channel art
• Report profile picture
• Report user

6. Select the reason to report Next.

• Optional: The window that opens may ask you to enter more details. Enter any other details that you want to share.

7. Tap Next Submit.

Note: When you report a channel, we don't review the channel's videos. We use the videos that you may attach to your report to understand more about the channel, but we don't check the videos for violations.

Channel features that we review include, but aren't limited to, the channel's profile photo, handle and description. If you think that specific videos on a channel violate our policies, you should report the specific videos.

Share content without sharing your channel details

Eligible users who open the links that you share can reply to you directly on YouTube. You can change this at any time by adjusting your privacy settings.

To share without connecting on all videos, modify your 'Channel visibility for shared links' settings within your account.

From your account settings :

1. Open your privacy settings.
2. Turn off channel visibility for shared links.

Note: On the Share panel, you will see your channel name shown at the top when your channel visibility is turned on.

Encryption for sharing videos and messages on YouTube

Messages may be reviewed to make sure that they follow Community Guidelines and for safety reasons. In line with our platform's policies, the Community Guidelines apply to all content on YouTube, including video shares and messages. Our systems may scan for content that is against these policies, such as content that could cause real-world harm, and we may review flagged content. To keep conversations secure, video shares and messages are encrypted as they are sent and stored. This layered approach helps us to create a safer environment while protecting user privacy.

Note: The content of your messages will not be used for ad targeting.

Common questions about sharing videos and messages on YouTube

What will people see on my channel once we connect?

When you share content, the recipient can view your channel. The following info is visible on your channel by default:

• Your channel name and handle
• Your public videos and public playlists (note: Playlists are set to private by default.)
• Your public subscriptions (note: Subscriptions are set to private by default.)

You can change this at any time by adjusting your privacy settings. Learn how to adjust the visibility of your playlists and subscriptions.

To share videos without sharing your channel information, follow these steps.

Why was my message not sent?

If your message wasn't sent, it could be for one of the following reasons:

• Poor connection: A weak or unstable Internet connection (Wi-Fi or mobile data) can prevent messages from being sent. Please try again when you have a stronger signal.
• Sending too many messages at once: To help prevent spam, there are limits on how many messages can be sent in a short period. If you've sent a lot of messages recently, please wait a while before trying again.
• Potential Community Guidelines violation(s): Our Community Guidelines apply to all content on YouTube, including on-platform video shares and messages. Your message may not be sent if it contains content that could be considered spam or in potential violation of YouTube's Community Guidelines, as well as for safety reasons.
• Your app or device needs to be updated: For the best performance, please make sure that you're using the latest version of the YouTube app and that your device's operating system is also up to date.

Why was my message removed by YouTube?

Community Guidelines apply to all content on YouTube, including on-platform video shares and messages. By messaging on YouTube, you accept that your messages may be reviewed against Community Guidelines and for safety reasons. Your message may be removed if it contains content that violates the Community Guidelines, such as spam.

Why can I no longer access the feature to share videos and messages?

Access is limited and subject to change. As we refine the feature, access may be removed or granted based on the evolving requirements.

Note: You can still delete your messages at any time.