A video disappearing from a playlist or a saved link leaves you with “[Deleted video]” and no information at all. Recovering the title is often possible, but the method depends on whether you ever watched it and whether you have the URL.
If You Watched It: Check Your History
Go to youtube.com/feed/history while signed in. Deleted videos sometimes still show a placeholder entry with the last-known title. Use Ctrl+F to search the page if the history is long.
Your browser history is often more reliable, since it stores the page title as it was at the time. Search it for “youtube.com/watch” around the date you remember watching.
If You Have the URL: Use the Wayback Machine
Paste the old video URL into the Wayback Machine. If the page was ever archived, you’ll see the title, description, and sometimes the thumbnail as it appeared.
This is the single most effective method, but it only works if someone archived that specific page — more likely for popular videos than obscure ones.
Getting the URL From a Playlist
If the video is a “[Deleted video]” entry in a playlist, you can often still get its ID: open the playlist, view the page source (Ctrl+U), and search for the deleted entry — the video ID is frequently still present in the page data. That ID reconstructs the URL for the Wayback Machine.
Search for Traces Elsewhere
Videos get discussed, linked, and embedded across the web. A Google search for the video ID itself (the string after watch?v=) often turns up forum posts, blog embeds, or Reddit threads referencing it — usually with the title.
Site-specific searches on Reddit or forums where the video might have been shared are worth trying too.
If It’s Your Own Video
Check Google Takeout — your YouTube data export may still include metadata for videos you’ve removed, depending on timing. Old email notifications from YouTube about the upload can also contain the title.
Why the Video Disappeared
Knowing which it was sometimes helps you find it: the uploader deleted it, made it private, the channel was terminated, or it was removed on copyright grounds. Videos removed for copyright are rarely re-uploaded; ones simply deleted by a creator often are, so searching the title once you’ve found it may turn up a mirror.
FAQ
What’s the most reliable way to find a deleted video’s title?
Paste the old URL into the Wayback Machine — if the page was archived, it shows the title, description, and sometimes the thumbnail.
Can I get the video ID from a playlist entry?
Often yes — open the playlist, view page source, and search for the deleted entry; the video ID is frequently still in the page data.
Does my watch history keep deleted videos?
Sometimes. Deleted videos occasionally still show a placeholder with the last-known title in youtube.com/feed/history.
What if it was my own video?
Check Google Takeout — your YouTube data export may still include metadata for removed videos, and old upload notification emails often contain the title.