If a YouTube video was deleted or made private and you’re trying to figure out what it was called, here are the methods that actually work.
Check Your Browser History
If you watched the video before it disappeared, your browser history likely still has the URL and page title. Search your history for “youtube.com/watch” around the date you remember watching it.
Check Your YouTube Watch History
If you were signed in to your Google account when you watched it, check YouTube > Library > History. Deleted videos sometimes still show a placeholder entry with the last-known title, even if the video itself is gone.
Use the Wayback Machine
If you have the video’s old URL (from history, a saved link, or a screenshot), paste it into the Wayback Machine at web.archive.org. If the page was ever archived, you can see the title, description, and sometimes even a cached thumbnail.
Search for It Elsewhere
Videos are often re-uploaded, discussed, or linked to from other sites, forums, or social media. A specific-enough Google search for details you remember (a phrase said in the video, the channel name, the topic) can sometimes turn up references to the original title.
If It’s Your Own Video
If you deleted your own video, check Google Takeout — depending on timing, your YouTube data export may still include metadata for videos you’ve since removed.
Related: See why offline downloads can’t transfer to your gallery and how to unhide a YouTube channel.
nnFAQ
Can I recover a deleted video’s title if I never watched it?
It’s harder, but searching for details you remember elsewhere online, or checking archives if you have the URL, can help.
Does YouTube keep any record of deleted videos for viewers?
No, once a video is deleted it’s generally gone from YouTube’s own systems for viewers, though your own watch history or Google Takeout may retain details for your own past uploads.