Statistical Consultants Ltd

Unlisted Videos

Date posted: 28 December 2014

Unlisted Videos is a website by Statistical Consultants Ltd, where people can submit, search for, and watch unlisted YouTube videos. It was launched on 28 December 2014.

In 2010, YouTube introduced the option of making videos unlisted. Unlisted videos are like regular public videos, but won't appear in YouTube's search results (except in playlists they have been added to). Like with ordinary public videos, the uploader's subscribers would be notified of the unlisted video (unless the default subscriber notifications have been turned off). An unlisted video can be accessed by anyone with access to the video's URL (such as a link from an external website) or a webpage that embeds the video.

Registration is not required for submitting unlisted YouTube videos to Unlisted Videos. Each submission must include a URL, a title, a short description (a long description is optional), and a set of keyword tags separated by commas. Upon submission, a webpage that embeds the video (or the thumbnail image if embedding isn't permitted) would be generated on Unlisted Videos. The video page would be searchable through Unlisted Video's search function.

Reasons for unlisting videos

There are a variety of reasons for having videos unlisted.

Some popular YouTube channels and official accounts of celebrities, bands, public figures, organisations etc., release some of their videos as unlisted for reasons that include:

To allow their subscribers get the first view of a video before it is made public.
To declutter their channel. For example, a band with many videos, might decide to make some of their live performance recordings unlisted, while keeping their official music videos public. Other examples would include videos that were timely rather than timeless, behind-the-scenes type videos, or videos deemed to be of lower importance/quality than the others.
To provide a hard to find 'Easter egg' or a treat for their subscribers.

In general, an unlisted video from a verified account (of a celebrity, organisation etc.) with many subscribers would be welcome on Unlisted Videos. The main exception is if it is a video that is likely to go public in the near future.

Some video uploader's appear to have videos unlisted because they think unlisting would do YouTube users a favour by not having videos that could appear easily in search results, but would only be of interest to a very narrow audience. For example, a tutorial demonstrating how to use a particular esoteric software application. Videos like these, would usually adhere to Unlisted Video's Terms of Use.

Some people may decide to make a video unlisted if it is only for a limited audience such as their friends, family, or workplace (and they don't want the hassle of setting up a private video and distributing permissions). Such unlisted videos are not welcome on Unlisted Videos, and wouldn't comply with the rules and guidelines outlined in Unlisted Video's Terms of Use (mostly due to privacy concerns). Chances are, videos like those won't be of interest to people outside of the target audience anyway.

Some people upload videos that are against YouTube's terms of usage, and make those videos unlisted to reduce the likelihood of a complaint being laid and their video being removed. If a video is against YouTube's terms of usage, it would also be against Unlisted Video's terms of usage.

External links:

Unlisted Videos

Unlisted Videos - All Videos
Unlisted Videos - Submit Video
Unlisted Videos - Terms of Use

Unlisted Videos - Facebook Page
Unlisted Videos - Twitter Profile

Statistical Consultants Ltd

Unlisted Videos

Reasons for unlisting videos

External links:

See also: