YouTube has a few different places where people can leave messages: comments under videos, live‑stream chat, and (previously) a private inbox. Which bits you can delete depends on where the message lives and who sent it. This guide explains what you can remove and how to do it on desktop and mobile.
What you can delete — and what you can’t
- Comments under videos: If you wrote a comment on a video, you can delete it. Channel owners can also remove comments on their videos. - Live chat during streams: You can usually delete your own messages while the stream is live. The streamer and moderators can remove messages from anyone, hide users or clear the chat. - Private direct messages: YouTube previously offered a private-message inbox but that is no longer part of the site. If you need to message someone privately, use another method (email, social links, or a platform that supports private messaging).
Note: Deleting is generally permanent for that message. Channel owners and moderators have extra powers (remove, hide, time‑out, ban); they can affect messages you and others have posted.
How to delete messages — practical steps
Desktop
- Comments under a video: Open the video page, find your comment, click the menu icon (usually three dots) beside your comment and choose Delete or Remove. - Your comment history: If you want to tidy multiple comments, check your account’s comment history in your YouTube/Google account settings — you can review and remove things there. - Live chat during a stream: If you want to remove one of your live messages while the stream is live, locate the message in the chat, click the menu icon next to it and choose Delete (or a similar option). If that option isn’t available you can ask a moderator or the channel owner to remove it.
Mobile (Android and iOS)
- Comments: Open the video, find your comment, tap the menu (three dots) next to it and choose Delete or Remove. - Live chat: Tap and hold the message you sent (or tap a small menu) and select Delete if that option appears. If you can’t delete it yourself, moderators or the streamer can remove it.
If you don’t see Delete options, the message may already be part of a replay, the stream might be over, or you might not have permission to remove it.
Quick tips and safety notes
- If you want to stop someone seeing or replying to you, consider blocking or hiding the user (streamers and channel owners can hide users from a channel). - If a message is abusive or breaks the rules, use the report option so YouTube can review it — and consider reporting the channel or user to the platform too. - Deleting a message from a live chat does not necessarily remove it from any recorded replay or third‑party capture; assume screenshots may exist. - If you’re cleaning up lots of old comments, use your account’s comment history tool for batch review.
Bottom line: You can delete your own comments and, in many cases, your live‑chat messages. Channel owners and moderators have broader removal powers, and private messaging isn’t available on YouTube itself — use other platforms for one‑to‑one conversations.
