How to Recover Deleted YouTube Videos – Detailed Steps to Follow

How to Recover Deleted YouTube Videos – Detailed Steps to Follow

As one of the most visited video-sharing websites, YouTube serves as a gateway to a vast world of knowledge, education, culture, entertainment, and news. However, if a beloved YouTube video is deleted and you can no longer watch it, what can you do?

YouTube may delete videos if their content violates its terms of service, or they may be removed by the user who uploaded them. Regardless of the reason, you can try the methods in this article to recover deleted YouTube videos and watch or download them again.

Part One: Find the URL of the Deleted YouTube Video

1. Check out the browser history to find the URL

Using Google Chrome as an example: click the three-dot icon in the upper right corner > go to “History” > find the deleted YouTube video in the browsing history list > click on it to retrieve the URL from the address bar.

https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXer28f5XLB2Dr-fQC4mpN5RCsiwP-ghKu_zNq3UhLEggMxAtdGbS2IdnfyoEhwWWU1ANmK0qwBMUbCB1f0aNQumi8PFlysfXfN3VCHzT_ilzPWAkNewDf6hEuvjJtWAmmC2Y4mV0oG5JQi3V9YmVBzzkIma?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g

2. Find the URL in YouTube Watch History

Click the three-line icon on YouTube in the upper right corner of the screen > select “History” > find your deleted video under “Watch history” > click on it to get the video link from the address bar.

https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfFlKX20gda8_bhvUL6vXSMpEGcDV1BuW7bsSEKIiNILUsU219wl2aVeHLW3tUxH5pAFynutHz7a9hW8uYbroKv8DZ7SJK4PRtW12gUm8gFOkW-3K6TWGddSkXebVG4m7H5DeRJWrwK9726FX2fOih374Ai?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g

Part Two: Try Five Methods to Find and Watch the Deleted YouTube Videos

You can follow these steps to recover deleted YouTube videos:

Method 1: Recover from a Backup or Previous Download

If you are the creator of the deleted YouTube video, you likely have a backup file. Locate the backup, which might be stored on your work computer, external drive, or online cloud services. If you can’t find the video backup, you can try using file data recovery tools to restore it.

If the video was uploaded by another YouTube user, check if you have previously downloaded it. Look in your PC’s Downloads folder or any other data drive where you might have saved the video. Once you find the backup or download of the deleted YouTube video, you can play it immediately.

Method 2. Find Deleted YouTube Videos Using File Recovery Software

If you have accidentally deleted the backup of a YouTube video from your Mac or an external hard drive connected to your Mac, stop writing any new data to your Mac or the external drive. This means avoiding any additional operations on your Mac and the external disk.

Next, check the Trash to see if the deleted videos are there. If they are, restore them. If not, you can use a tool like iBoysoft Data Recovery to recover deleted videos from internal hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives, external hard drives, etc. The software also has the Windows version for PC users.

Here’s how to use iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to recover lost or deleted videos on Mac:

  • Step 1. Download and install iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac on your computer.
  • Step 2. Open the software and choose the disk or volume where the deleted videos were originally located.
  • Step 3. Click on “Search for Lost Data” and wait for the scanning process to complete.
https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXexOAsYAMNt-5N5WgQJxRcauELx2hmUsgH3N3PAJZrFMP2On1fLaKQ2m7L23C4fWTtXNbKVKr2UiZBCdCffBhUBSJT0DSiL8XkEaQry_7vun1irqCtK4BlpboGSH-TgYrWlQiwkL-uck2uXYuAEtZjkYUk?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g

Step 4. Review the scan results, select the videos you want to recover, and click “Recover” to restore them.

https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfwvPRRDSnZM4c58uJMpPXs4li8OXAQHHIfr6TYGeUiFR1KFzk1WW1E9iXEgsVFHIv3UrsvE4nbiDqTbylD8L9rMG9gqfjEICdZr391XblfB-nWOeEXKjA7cxZD3FYjlmRN_8kJkwKlTIbuVv419-MTFe8K?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g

Method 3. Use Wayback Machine to Recover the Deleted YouTube Video 

Wayback Machine is a free service that provides access to a vast archive of web pages and other content. If a YouTube video was published and later deleted, there is a possibility it might have been archived by Wayback Machine. If the archived version still exists, you can download it to your local drive for future use. Follow these steps:

  • Step 1. Copy the URL of the deleted video you found in Part One of this article
  • Step 2. Open a new browser tab, go to https://web.archive.org.
  • Step 3. Paste the copied URL into the search box (below is an example image) and select “Search archived websites,” then click “Go.”
https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfGd9yzpFkjfmrW061NZTDunRHVkGgu2mX0oSmQDoU9j3Y25WbIx7kHExyUH66lJesNWVnJ3oxIGzovefv_vZjivjdxxuBojxeHWjyYNJAGbY-KFiP5FanSWy44GqnEGoe3VynZIfd_AVjM6Guo_Q5yrtd_?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g

Step 4. Choose one of the available dates from the upload history of the deleted YouTube video.

After following these steps, you can either watch the deleted YouTube video again or download it to your computer.

Method 4: Check for Cached Version to Find the Deleted YouTube Video

If Google managed to cache the video before its removal and the cache hasn’t been refreshed, you might still be able to view the cached version of the deleted YouTube video. Follow these steps:

  • Step 1. Launch Google Chrome.
  • Step 2. In the search bar, type cache: followed by the video URL, omitting the “https://” part.

For example, if the video link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8TwN6PQLWU, you should enter cache:www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8TwN6PQLWU.

https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdOici-C_mC8o7Yh76Gqsn4tqMuf5cFpLvLZmU2fCarTpRoQXtYEOSUxzdq2TxSoXXwV4Zpb_PAR_jjAsZDnA_Yy2proo9DLXLwUuAk1cxn73SXQ8fv-N4uyx2ZH56U2GJIRuu7v4vvRCQ6E5-bvVVJbq2D?key=filoH3caMymRSxI0dj9f-g
  • Step 3. Hit Enter to search for the cached version of that YouTube video.

Method 5: Recover the deleted YouTube video from YouTube Support

If you are the owner of the deleted YouTube video, the easiest method to retrieve it from your channel is by contacting the Creator Support Team. To access this service, you must meet specific criteria:

You need to be a YouTube partner, and your channel must have at least 10,000 views. If the ‘Get Creator Support’ option is not visible, it indicates that you do not qualify.

  • Step 1: Visit the YouTube Help Center and click on “Get support” in the top right corner.
  • Step 2: From the drop-down list, select “Get Creator Support.”
  • Step 3: Choose the appropriate category for your issue, such as “Channel & video features.”
  • Step 4: Click on “Email Support” to submit your request.

YouTube will only remove or conceal a video or channel if it violates the YouTube Community Guidelines or due to copyright infringement. Once a video is removed from YouTube, this action is irreversible. If you lack a backup or have also deleted the backup, file recovery software such as iBoysoft Data Recovery can assist you in retrieving lost or deleted YouTube videos and other file types.

If you have a backup, you can re-upload a video to your YouTube channel as a completely new video with a unique ID. This means that the new upload will not retain any of the original video’s interaction metrics such as comments, likes, and views. You can attempt to recover deleted YouTube videos using the methods mentioned above.

Conclusion

In conclusion, losing a beloved YouTube video can be frustrating, but there are several methods to attempt recovery. Start by finding the video URL through your browser or YouTube watch history.

Once you have the URL, try recovering the video from backups or previous downloads, using file recovery software, checking the Wayback Machine, or searching for a cached version. If you are the video’s creator, reaching out to YouTube Support might also be an option. These steps can help you retrieve and watch your deleted YouTube videos again.

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