You know that feeling. You watched a video six months ago—maybe it was a sourdough starter tutorial or a niche video essay about a forgotten 90s sitcom—and you distinctly remember hitting that thumbs-up button. Now you want to show it to someone. Or maybe you just need to re-watch it because your crust isn't rising. You open the app, stare at the screen, and realize the interface has changed... again. Honestly, finding liked videos on YouTube shouldn't feel like a digital scavenger hunt, but with Google’s constant UI "refreshes," it often does.
Most people assume there’s a giant, obvious button labeled "Everything You've Ever Liked." There isn't. Instead, YouTube buries these gems inside a shifting "Library" or "You" tab that looks different depending on whether you’re on a PlayStation 5, an iPhone, or a Chrome browser on a dusty laptop. It’s annoying.
The Quick Way to Locate Your Liked Content
If you're on a desktop right now, stop scrolling through the home feed. Look at the left-hand sidebar. You might need to click those three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) in the top left corner to expand it. Scroll down past your subscriptions. Usually, you’ll see a section called "You" or "Library." Within that list, there is a specific playlist called Liked videos. It has a distinct "thumbs up" icon. Click that. You're home.
On mobile, it’s a bit more tactile. You've got that row of icons at the bottom of your screen. Tap your profile picture in the bottom right corner—it’s now labeled "You" in the latest 2024/2025 updates. Once you’re there, look for the "Playlists" section. You might have to swipe horizontally or tap "View all" to find the one titled Liked videos. It’s basically a system-generated playlist that you can't delete, though you can certainly hide it from public view.
Why Can’t I Find My Liked Videos?
Sometimes it just vanishes. You’re logged in, you’re looking at the right menu, but the playlist is gone. This usually happens for a few specific reasons. First, check your account. If you have multiple "Brand Accounts" linked to one email—a common thing for creators or people who’ve had YouTube since the 2000s—you might be logged into your "Channel" identity instead of your "Personal" one. Each one has its own separate "Liked videos" history. It’s a mess. Switch accounts by tapping your profile icon and selecting "Switch account."
Another weird quirk? The 5,000 video limit.
YouTube has a hard cap on how many videos show up in that specific playlist. If you’ve been a "liking" machine for a decade, the older ones start falling off the bottom of the list to make room for the new stuff. They aren't "unliked," but they stop appearing in that specific curated playlist. To find those ancient relics, you actually have to dig into your Google Activity controls, which is a whole different level of digital archaeology.
Navigating the Google My Activity Loophole
If the playlist is glitching or you need to find something from 2014 that the playlist won't show, you have to go to the source.
- Go to myactivity.google.com.
- Click on "Other activity" in the sidebar.
- Scroll until you see "YouTube likes and dislikes."
- Click "View interactions."
This is the raw data. It’s not pretty. It’s a chronological text list of every single thing you’ve ever thumbed up. It bypasses the app's UI limitations. If you can't find it here, you probably didn't actually like it—maybe you just added it to "Watch Later" or a custom playlist. People mix those up constantly.
The Secret Difference Between "Liked" and "Library"
The "Library" is the umbrella. Your "Liked videos" is just one drawer in the cabinet.
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A common misconception is that "Liked videos" is the same as your "Watch History." Not even close. Your history is a record of your presence; your likes are a record of your sentiment. Interestingly, according to YouTube’s own algorithm documentation, liking a video carries more weight for your future recommendations than simply watching it. When you're finding liked videos on YouTube, you're essentially looking at the training manual you've unknowingly written for your personal algorithm.
If your recommendations are weird lately, go into your liked videos and start pruning. Deleting a "like" from three years ago can actually shift what Google decides to show you on your home page tomorrow. It's a powerful tool for resetting your digital vibe.
Privacy: Who Can See What You Like?
By default, your "Liked videos" playlist is private. This wasn't always the case years ago, which led to some pretty embarrassing moments for public figures and regular users alike. If you want to check your privacy settings, go to your YouTube Settings, then "Privacy." Ensure "Keep all my saved playlists private" is toggled on.
Even if the playlist is private, the count on the video itself is public. Your name won't be attached to it in the public view, but the creator can sometimes see aggregated data about who is liking their stuff through YouTube Analytics. They won't see "John Doe liked this at 2 AM," but they'll see "Male, 25-34, from Ohio."
Sorting and Managing the Chaos
YouTube doesn't give you great sorting tools for likes. You can't really sort by "Oldest to Newest" within the app's playlist view easily. You’re stuck with "Recently Added" at the top. If you’re looking for a specific video and you have 4,000 likes, your best bet is actually using the search bar within the YouTube site while your Liked playlist is open, or just using Cmd+F or Ctrl+F on a desktop to find a keyword in the titles.
If you’re on a mission to organize, consider moving important "likes" into themed playlists. "Liked videos" is a junk drawer. If you find a recipe you love, don't just like it. Add it to a "Recipes" playlist. It takes two extra taps but saves you ten minutes of scrolling later.
Actionable Steps for Better Video Management
Stop treating the "Like" button as a bookmarking tool. It’s an algorithmic signal first and a storage system second. To keep your saved content accessible and your feed clean, follow these specific steps:
- Audit your Brand Accounts: Click your profile picture and "Switch Account" to see if your missing likes are hiding under a different persona.
- Use Google My Activity: If you need to find a video liked years ago that isn't showing up in the 5,000-limit playlist, go to
myactivity.google.comand filter for YouTube interactions. - Create Topical Playlists: Take five minutes once a month to move your "must-keep" liked videos into specific playlists (e.g., "Workouts," "Tutorials") so you aren't reliant on the "Liked videos" catch-all.
- Check Privacy Settings: Go to "Settings" > "Privacy" and confirm your saved playlists are private to avoid sharing your viewing habits with the world.
- Clear the Clutter: Remove likes from videos that no longer interest you to "re-train" your YouTube Home feed recommendations.
Finding those videos is basically about knowing where the "You" tab lives this month. Once you’re there, the data is all yours. Just remember the 5,000-video cap, and you'll never wonder where your favorite clips went again.