Where YouTube keeps your comments and how to see them
Your YouTube comments live in one of three places: on the videos where you posted them, in your channel's comment history, or in your notifications if someone replied to you. The fastest way to find a specific comment is to go to your channel and look at the "Comments" tab, which shows every comment you have ever left in reverse chronological order — newest first. If you are looking for a reply someone sent you, check your notifications bell at the top of the YouTube homepage.
YouTube does not give you a single searchable archive of your own comments the way some platforms do. Instead, you navigate to where the comments are stored and scroll through them. This matters because if you left a comment months ago and want to find it again, you will need to either remember roughly when you posted it, or go back to the video itself and search the comments section there.
Key Takeaways
- Your comment history lives on your channel under the "Comments" tab, where you can see everything you have posted in reverse date order.
- To find a comment on a specific video, go to that video and use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to search the comments section.
- Replies to your comments show up in your notifications, and you can also see them by clicking on the original comment you left.
- Comments you delete are removed from public view when ready, but YouTube may keep records of deleted comments for a limited time for moderation purposes.
- If a video is deleted or made private, your comment on it will no longer be visible to you or anyone else.
Accessing your comment history from your channel
Sign in to YouTube and click your profile picture in the top right corner. Select "Create a channel" or go directly to your channel by clicking "Your channel." Once you are on your channel page, look for the tabs below your banner image — you should see "Home," "Videos," "Playlists," and "Community." Scroll right through these tabs until you find "Comments." Click it.
This page shows every comment you have left on any video, sorted with your most recent comments at the top. You can scroll through this list indefinitely — YouTube does not limit how far back you can go. Each comment shows the video title, the date you posted, and a preview of what you wrote. Click on any comment to jump directly to that video and see your comment in context.
Finding comments on a specific video
If you remember which video you commented on but not when, go directly to that video. Scroll down to the comments section below the video player. YouTube shows the most popular or newest comments first, depending on how you have sorted them. If your comment is not visible on the first screen, use your browser's find function: press Ctrl+F on Windows or Cmd+F on Mac, then type a word or phrase from your comment. Your browser will highlight matching text in the comments section.
This method works even if you have not signed in, as long as your comment is still public. If you left the comment under your real name or channel name, searching for a distinctive phrase from what you wrote will usually find it quickly. If the video has thousands of comments, this is often faster than scrolling through the "Comments" tab on your channel.
Checking replies to your comments
When someone replies to a comment you left, YouTube sends you a notification. Click the notification bell icon at the top of the YouTube homepage to see all your recent notifications, including replies. You can also find replies by going to the comment itself: navigate to the video where you commented, find your comment, and look for a small number next to it indicating how many replies it has received. Click on your comment to expand it and see the replies.
If you want to see all replies across all your comments without hunting through individual videos, the notification bell is your fastest route. YouTube keeps notifications for a limited time — typically a few weeks — so if you are looking for a very old reply, you may need to go back to the specific video and find the comment there.
What happens to comments you delete
When you delete a comment, it disappears from the video when ready. No one else can see it, and it no longer appears in your comment history. However, YouTube's systems may retain a record of the deleted comment for a limited time for moderation and safety purposes — this is standard practice across platforms. You cannot recover a comment once you have deleted it, so if you think you might want to reference it later, take a screenshot or copy the text before deleting.
If you delete a comment that other people have replied to, their replies remain visible on the video, but they will appear as replies to a deleted comment rather than to your original text. This can look confusing to other viewers, but there is no way to remove replies that others have posted to your comment without asking YouTube support to intervene.
Comments on videos that are no longer available
If the creator of a video deletes the video or makes it private, your comment on that video disappears from public view. It will no longer show up on the video itself, and it will no longer appear in your comment history on your channel. This happens automatically — you do not need to do anything. The comment is effectively gone as far as you and anyone else can see.
If a video is made unlisted (visible only to people with the link) rather than deleted, your comment remains on the video but is not visible to the general public. Your comment history will still show it, but clicking on it will take you to the unlisted video, which you can only access if you have the link or if you are the video's creator.
Managing your comment visibility and privacy
YouTube does not give you a blanket setting to hide all your comments from other users. However, you can control comments on your own channel: if you have created videos, you can approve or reject comments before they appear, or turn comments off entirely for specific videos. For comments you have left on other people's videos, your only options are to delete individual comments or to make your channel itself private (which hides your entire channel from public view).
If you are concerned about comments you left years ago, you can delete them one at a time from your comment history. There is no bulk delete function, so this takes time if you have left many comments. Some people use third-party tools that claim to delete YouTube comments in bulk, but these require you to give them access to your account, which carries security risks. It is safer to delete comments manually or to accept that old comments will remain visible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I search my comments by keyword?
YouTube's comment history tab does not have a search function. Your best option is to use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) while viewing your comment history page, though this only searches what is currently visible on screen. For comments on specific videos, use the same method in the video's comments section.
Why can't I see a comment I know I left?
The video may have been deleted or made private by its creator. The comment may have been removed by the video's creator or by YouTube's automated systems if it violated community guidelines. Or your comment may have been posted under a different account or channel than the one you are currently signed into.
Do my comments stay visible if I delete my channel?
If you delete your YouTube channel, all comments you left under that channel are removed from public view. However, if you have multiple channels, comments from other channels remain visible. Comments are tied to the specific channel that posted them.
Can I edit a comment after I have posted it?
YouTube does not have a built-in edit function for comments. You can delete a comment and post a new one, but you cannot change the text of an existing comment. Some creators use the pinned comment feature to clarify or correct information, but this only works on their own videos.
What if someone is harassing me in the comments?
You can delete comments on your own videos, block users, or report comments that violate YouTube's community guidelines. If someone is harassing you on another creator's video, report the comment to YouTube and consider blocking that user. The video's creator can also remove or hide comments on their own videos.