# What is the YouTube Library, and how do I use it? — Adinand Channel Sorter Last reviewed: October 14, 2026. HTML version: https://channelsorter.com/answers/youtube-library/ **It is where the videos you have saved, watched and bought collect, and in YouTube's current help it sits inside the You tab.** YouTube's page for that tab opens: “Visit your You tab to view everything you’ve watched, downloaded, or purchased on YouTube.” On a phone, it says, you get there by tapping your profile picture, and “On this page, you can access your account settings, navigation options, and content collections directly from your centralized Library” (*YouTube Help: Explore the You tab (Android)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9209643?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid). The iPhone version of the page says the same. ## Where to find it - **Phone (Android or iPhone):** tap your profile picture. The Library is a section on that page. - **Computer:** “go to the guide and click You” (*YouTube Help: Explore the You tab (computer)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9209643?hl=en). You may still see the name used as a tab of its own, and so does some of YouTube's help. Its Android navigation guide says “The Library tab is where you can find info like History, Your Videos, Purchases, Watch Later, and Playlists” (*YouTube Help: Find your way around YouTube (Android)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2897379?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid). Neither page says one name replaced the other, so we won't either; if your app shows **Library** where this page says **You**, the contents are the same kind of thing. ## What is in it The computer version of the You tab page lists these sections (*YouTube Help: Explore the You tab (computer)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9209643?hl=en): - **History**: “Videos you've recently watched”. - **Watch later**: “Videos you’ve saved to your Watch later playlist”. - **Playlists**: the ones you created, “including public, private, and unlisted playlists”. The page adds that “A maximum of 5,000 videos can be displayed in a playlist.” - **Liked videos**: “The videos you’ve previously liked”. - **Your videos**: what you uploaded yourself. - **Your podcasts**, **Primetime channels** you bought, and **Badges**. The page ends with a caveat worth taking literally: “You may not see all of these sections in your You tab.” ## Sorting and filtering it on a phone The mobile Library has its own small toolset. YouTube lists a sort, “by recency, A-Z, or Z-A”, and chips along the top to filter by “Purchased, Playlists, Podcasts, Music, or Courses”. They only show up once there is enough in it: “Sorting and filtering options dynamically appear only when your Library contains more than 5 items” (*YouTube Help: Explore the You tab (iPhone)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9209643?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS). ## Putting things into it Three routes, each from YouTube's help: 1. **Watch later.** On a computer, “Point to a video's thumbnail and click Watch later” without opening it (*YouTube Help: Add & remove videos from Watch later*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/56101?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop). 2. **Your own playlists.** **More**, then **Save**, then pick or create one. A playlist is YouTube's nearest thing to a folder, and [our page on organising videos into folders](https://channelsorter.com/answers/organize-youtube-videos-into-folders/) goes through it. 3. **Someone else's playlist.** While watching a video from it, click **Save playlist** in the playlist box; YouTube says saving “allows you to easily find and view them later” (*YouTube Help: Save playlists*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/4541577?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop). Everything in History gets there by itself, as long as watch history is on. ## Not to be confused with the Audio Library Search for “YouTube library” and you will also meet a creator tool with almost the same name. YouTube describes it as the place in YouTube Studio where “you can find royalty-free production music and sound effects to use in your videos”, and says “The Audio Library is found exclusively in YouTube Studio” (*YouTube Help: Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3376882?hl=en). It holds music for people making videos, not anything you saved. ## What it does not hold: your subscriptions The You tab's section list has no entry for the channels you follow. They live on the Subscriptions tab, which YouTube's Android guide says “shows you the newest videos from the channels you’re subscribed to”, with “A list of your subscribed channels” at the top (*YouTube Help: Find your way around YouTube (Android)*, read 14 October 2026 — https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2897379?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid). The full list, on every device, is on [how to see all the channels you're subscribed to](https://channelsorter.com/answers/see-all-youtube-subscriptions/). When it is time to empty some of it, [clearing your YouTube library](https://channelsorter.com/answers/clear-your-youtube-library/) takes each section in turn. Related: [How do I delete videos from my YouTube library?](https://channelsorter.com/answers/clear-your-youtube-library/) · [Can you organize YouTube videos into folders?](https://channelsorter.com/answers/organize-youtube-videos-into-folders/) · [How to see all the channels you're subscribed to](https://channelsorter.com/answers/see-all-youtube-subscriptions/)