Leaving comments on YouTube videos can be hugely rewarding. Connecting with creators, sparking interesting debates, and adding your perspective to the discussion are all part of what makes YouTube communities vibrant.
But in such a massive public forum visited by over 2 billion people every month, you also want control over your contributions. Being able to revisit and manage your YouTube remarks after posting them gives you that control.
So whether you want to review previous comments to delete, edit, reshare or simply reminisce over your greatest YouTube hits, accessing your personal commenting history is invaluable.
In this comprehensive guide just for you, I‘ll walk you through exactly how to see your past YouTube comments using YouTube and Google‘s built-in tools. You‘ll learn:
- Where to find your full YouTube comment history
- How to access comments from mobile devices
- Steps to delete, edit or share your old comments
- Tips to manage and analyze your ongoing activity
Let‘s get started exploring your YouTube commenting past, present and future!
Why Should You Review Your YouTube Comment History?
Before we dive into the how-to, let‘s discuss why you might want to revisit your YouTube commenting history in the first place.
To Delete Embarrassing Old Comments
We‘ve all hastily posted remarks online only to later regret them. Rereading cringey YouTube comments years later when your views or temperament has changed can make you shudder.
By regularly reviewing your history, you can delete these skeletons in your closet right from the source before someone else awkwardly stumbles upon them.
To Edit or Clarify Incorrect Information
Similarly, you might realize some analyses or facts you confidently posted just a few months back are now known to be inaccurate or incomplete.
Checking your YouTube comment history lets you edit past remarks to ensure you don‘t continue spreading outdated or false information to new readers.
To Reshare Your Best Comments
On the flip side, maybe you left an exceptionally hot take or insightful observation at some point lost deep in your history!
Digging up these forgotten conversational gems to reshare with friends can let you highlight your wisdom or wit long after the original post.
To Further the Conversation
Beyond posting standalone comments, you may have also engaged in rich, meaningful discussions under some videos you want to continue contributing to with time.
Refinding these comment threads allows you pick up the dialectic again when new thoughts arise or information appears.
To Monitor Suspicious Account Activity
Finally, routinely checking your authenticated web history acts as a security measure. If comments appear you don‘t remember making, it could signal your account was hacked.
So reviewing your YouTube activity protects your identity by revealing unauthorized access.
Now that you know why it pays to revisit the past, let‘s outline how to access your YouTube commentary history.
Where to Find Your Full YouTube Comment History In One Place
While you can view your latest remarks by browsing videos you‘ve recently commented on, this only shows one comment thread at a time.
To see your entire YouTube comment history together chronologically, you‘ll need to access your complete Google account history dashboard:
This hub collects data on every Google service you use while logged in, across devices. That includes:
- YouTube video views, searches, likes, and comments
- Chrome browsing history
- Google Maps activity
- Gmail messages
- Android app usage
And more, as shown in this activity frequency data:
| Google Service | Avg. Monthly User Actions |
|---|---|
| YouTube Video Views | 14 billion |
| Gmail Logins | 30 billion |
| Chrome Webpages Visited | 92 billion |
| YouTube Comments Posted | 750 million |
Data source: Statista Google Consumer Surveys
With over 750 million new remarks per month, YouTube powers massive discussion. And all your contributions are saved to your Google account history.
Here‘s how to access your personal YouTube comment bank:
Step 1: Go to myactivity.google.com
Visit myactivity.google.com and ensure you‘re signed into your Google Account.
This brings you to your complete history dashboard.
Step 2: Click "Other Google activity"
On the left sidebar, click Other Google activity to expand your full off-search history:
Comments, reactions, and YouTube video views are all logged here.
Step 3: Locate "Comments on YouTube"
Under the Other activity section, scroll down and select Comments on YouTube:
Note you can also view other YouTube activity like videos watched, playlists created, searches, etc.
Step 4: Review Comment History By Date
Selecting Comments on YouTube surfaces your full chronological YouTube comment history like so:
You‘ll immediately notice a few helpful details:
- Comments display in reverse chronological order
- The video name and channel are shown with each remark
- An elapsed time appears displaying exactly when they were posted
This clean view makes scanning your entire YouTube contributions easy.
Now let‘s detail how to act on comments from this hub.
Manage Your YouTube Comment History
The activity dashboard isn‘t just a passive view showing your read-only history. You can also directly act on comments right from this centralized hub.
To manage any existing comment, click the vertical ellipses (…) Overflow Menu next to its date stamp.
This opens available management options:
You then can choose to:
- Edit to change comment text directly on YouTube
- Delete to permanently erase the remark
- Open on YouTube to view its full context
So this hub lets you find and control your YouTube commentary if desired.
Edit Inaccurate or Embarrassing Comments
For instance, say you discover an outdated analysis you posted just last year is now incorrect according to new research.
Or maybe you made an off-color joke that no longer aligns with your views or professional standards.
In one click, you can jump directly into editing or deleting these posts right from your history dashboard. No need to hunt them down manually video by video.
Share Your Greatest Comment Hits
Alternately, scanning your history may help you rediscover exceptionally hot takes or insightful observations you want to showcase.
When you locate these, accessing them again is easy. Just click Open on YouTube to view the comment publicly in context of the full video thread.
You can then copy the permalink to share the precise comment elsewhere for bragging rights.
Continue Ongoing Conversations
Beyond standalone commentary, using this tool makes it simple to relocate richer discussion threads you engaged in previously.
Simply reopen interesting conversations to potentially dive back in with new evidence, perspectives or analysis over time.
Now that you know how to control past contributions, next let‘s cover accessing comments on mobile.
View Your YouTube Comment History on Mobile
What if you want to review your commentary on the go from your phone rather than desktop?
Luckily accessing your history via the YouTube mobile app is just as straightforward.
Here‘s how to see mobile comments:
Step 1: Open the YouTube App
Launch the YouTube app then tap your profile picture > Settings in the top right:
Step 2: Tap "History & Privacy" > "Manage All Activity"
Select History & privacy from settings then choose Manage all activity:
Step 3: Tap "Interactions" from Top Navigation Bar
Scroll up and select the Interactions from the top navigation bar:
Step 4: Choose "Comments & Replies"
Finally, tap Comments & replies under Video interactions to view your chronological comment history identical to the desktop dashboard!
So accessing past commentary on mobile YouTube takes just a few quick taps using this hidden app pathway.
Handy when you‘re lying in bed or on the bus and need to quickly delete that embarrassing drunk comment from last weekend!
Next let‘s cover some frequent questions around finding YouTube comments.
FAQs: Common YouTube Comment History Questions
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions around managing your YouTube commentary history:
How do I delete my recently posted comment fast?
Instead of digging through history, visit the video itself, tap your comment‘s overflow menu then select Delete.
How do I find really old YouTube comments I left?
Your complete YouTube comment history from the inception of your account is available through Google My Activity. Simply select “Comments on YouTube” to surface all remarks in reverse chronological order.
Can someone else browse all my YouTube comment history?
No. Your full history is private and only visible while signed into your own Google account. However, comments left publicly can appear anonymized in certain Google searches.
Why are none of my old YouTube comments showing up suddenly?
If your commentary seems to suddenly be missing, common reasons include:
- Comments being posted from a secondary or outdated account
- Using YouTube Studio to manage channel comments only
- Comment history setting excludes some activity types
- Comments violating guidelines and being deleted
I don‘t have a Google account. Can I still see my YouTube comment history?
Without signing into a Google Account associated with your YouTube activity, there is no centralized dashboard to access your commentary history unfortunately. However you can still view comments left on individual videos which are publicly available.
Consider connecting your YouTube account to Google for unified history moving forward.
Are my public YouTube comments visible forever – even after I delete them myself?
When you proactively delete your own comments, they cannot be recovered through YouTube or Google‘s dashboards in the future. However, there‘s a chance they were indexed by search engines like Google or seen by others while originally public.
For true retroactive erasure from external archives, you would need a reputation management service.
Alright, final section! Let‘s discuss some pro tips for ongoing YouTube community participation.
Pro Tips: Continue Commenting Confidently on YouTube
Here are my top tips for responsibly and strategically engaging in YouTube comments long-term:
Install a Third-Party Analytics Plugin
Rather than manually digging through history, use a browser extension like Return YouTube Dislike to display realtime comment metrics right below videos.
This lets you instantly gauge reaction without guessing or constantly rechecking.
Set Comment Notifications
Enable push and email notifications for your YouTube account under Settings > Notifications. Then when anyone replies to your remarks, you‘ll be alerted to continue the conversation.
Use Multiple Google Accounts
If you sign into YouTube using separate Google accounts for personal and professional commenting, you can better separate those identities and histories moving forward. Just switch accounts to post from the appropriate profile.
Routinely "Audit" Your Comment History
Make a habit of briefly checking your YouTube commentary archive for security reasons, or at least once a year. Quickly scan to ensure everything aligns with your values today.
By putting these insights into practice, hopefully managing ongoing contributions is less daunting!
Now you have the blueprint to not just post public YouTube remarks today, but responsibly participate in its massive commentverse long into the future as well.
Whether you want to delete embarrassing remarks, find forgotten conversational gems to reshare, or simply ensure your account security, accessing your YouTube comment history is invaluable.
So feel free chart your commenting past, take control of your present, and contribute confidently moving ahead! Just remember, with great analytic power over your public opinions comes great responsibility.
