A YouTube playlist is the best way to create a tailored list containing your favorite videos. You can group videos together by channel or interest, as well as share your playlist for others to use or edit.
Most content on YouTube can be added to a playlist, but there are some exceptions. If you want to add “made for kids” videos to a YouTube playlist, you’re out of luck as these videos are restricted due to the U.S. COPPA regulations, designed to protect children, and can’t be added.
RELATED: Why YouTube Videos “Made for Kids” Have Restricted Features
Creating a New YouTube Playlist
If you want to create a new YouTube playlist, you’ll need to find a video you want to add first and then use that video to create your playlist. The steps for doing this vary slightly for web and mobile users.
On YouTube Web
To create a new YouTube playlist on the YouTube website, find and open the first video you wish to add.
Below the video are the various options to offer feedback with likes and dislikes, as well as to share or save the video. Click the “Save” button to proceed.
In the “Save To” box, you can either save the video to your “Watch Later” playlist, to another playlist, or to a new playlist.
Click “Create A New Playlist” to begin creating a new playlist.
Add a name for your playlist in the “Name” box. You can use a maximum of 150 characters for this.
You’ll also need to determine the privacy level for your new playlist. You can set this to public (allowing anyone to search for and view it), unlisted (leaving it public, but hiding it from search), or private (only you can view or find it).
Once you’re happy with your options, click “Create” to add your playlist.
The video you saved will be immediately added to the playlist as its first video, which you can then find in your YouTube library by clicking “Library” from the left-hand menu.
You’ll also find the playlist listed by name a few steps below this, under your “Watch Later” playlist in the left-hand menu. Clicking this link will take you to the playlist directly.
On Android, iPhone, and iPad
Creating a playlist is a similar process in the YouTube Android, iPhone, and iPad apps.
You’ll need to first open an appropriate video and then tap the “Save” button under it.
By default, YouTube will add this to your most recently created playlist, or the “Watch Later” playlist if you have no other playlists available.
An alert will appear at the bottom of your screen. Tap the “Change” button to edit the save location if you want to add it to a new playlist instead.
In the “Save Video To” options menu, tap the “New Playlist” button in the top right.
Provide a name for your playlist and then set the privacy level to public, unlisted, or private.
Tap “Create” to save your choice.
Once saved, the video will be added to your new playlist.
You can also do this for multiple videos by selecting the “Library” tab in the bottom menu. From there, tap the “New Playlist” button.
A list of your recently watched videos will appear here. Tap the checkbox next to the video (or videos) you wish to add and then select the “Next” button.
The options for naming your new playlist will appear. Provide a name and set the appropriate privacy levels (public, unlisted, or private) and then tap “Create” to save the playlist.
Whether you decide to create a playlist during video playback or from your YouTube library, your playlist will be visible in the library.
Adding or Removing Videos from a YouTube Playlist
If you have an existing YouTube playlist available in your library, you can add or remove videos to it at any point by following similar steps to the method above.
On YouTube Web
When you click “Save” beneath a YouTube video, a list of playlists you’ve created or subscribed to will be displayed. If you haven’t created or subscribed to any other playlists, only your “Watch Later” playlist will be visible here, along with the “Create a New Playlist” button.
If you have another playlist available, however, this will be visible underneath your “Watch Later” playlist with the name you (or the playlist creator) provided.
You can tap the checkbox next to this to immediately add the video to that playlist. (The checkbox will turn blue.) If you want to remove it from your playlist, tap the checkbox to remove it.
Once you’re done, click the “X” button in the top right to close the menu. YouTube will automatically save or remove the video from your playlist, depending on the choice you made.
On Android, iPhone, and iPad
For Android, iPhone, and iPad users, tapping the “Save” button below a playing video (or “Saved” if the video is already saved to a playlist) will bring up the available playlist options.
If you want to save the video to your playlist, tap the checkbox next to the playlist name.
Once a video is added to a playlist, the checkbox will turn blue with a white check in the middle. To remove it instead, tap this checkbox to remove the blue tick.
When you’re finished, tap “Done” to save and exit the menu.
Viewing, Editing, and Deleting YouTube Playlists
YouTube playlists are visible in your YouTube library. From here, you can view and play your playlists, modify settings, or delete them entirely.
On YouTube Web
If you’re using YouTube on the web, click “Library” in the left-hand menu to access your playlists. Playlists will also be visible beneath “Watch Later” and other playlists in the same menu.
Clicking on the playlist name will bring up the playlist for you to edit or play.
To begin playing videos in your playlist, click the individual video thumbnail or select “Play All” to begin playback from the first video.
If you want to change the privacy level for your playlist, click the privacy drop-down menu under the playlist name.
You can select public, private, or unlisted—changes you make will be applied automatically.
If you want to change the name or description of your playlist, tap the “Pencil” icon next to those sections.
If you want to allow other users to add videos to a playlist you’ve created, select the three-dot menu icon and then click the “Collaborate” option.
In the “Collaborate” menu, select the slider next to the “Collaborators Can Add Videos To This Playlist” option and then click “Done” to confirm.
To delete your playlist entirely, click the three-dot menu icon and then select the “Delete Playlist” option.
YouTube will ask you to confirm your choice here, so click “Delete” to do so.
Once confirmed, your YouTube playlist will be deleted.
This will only delete the playlist, however. Any videos you’ve uploaded separately will be maintained on your account, as will videos you added to your playlist from other channels.
On Android, iPhone, and iPad
For mobile users on iPhone, iPad, and Android, you can view existing playlists you’ve created or subscribed to by tapping “Library” in the bottom menu.
Playlists will be visible under the “Playlists” section here. Tapping the playlist name will provide you with more information about the playlist.
To begin playing your playlist from the beginning, tap the red “Play” button.
You can also play videos individually by selecting the video’s thumbnail.
To edit the playlist, tap the “Pencil” button.
From here, you can set the playlist name, description, privacy level, and whether or not you want other users adding videos to it under the “Collaborate” section.
Tap the “Save” button in the top right once you’re done.
To delete the playlist, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right.
From here, tap the “Delete Playlist” option.
YouTube will ask you to confirm—select “Delete” to do so.
Once confirmed, the YouTube playlist will be deleted.
