JavaScript Solution for Bulk Deleting Videos from YouTube's 'Watch Later' List

Other Questions JavaScript
1

Is your YouTube ‘Watch Later’ list overflowing? I’ve got a fix for that!

I created a JavaScript snippet to clear out your ‘Watch Later’ videos in bulk. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Open YouTube and go to your ‘Watch Later’ playlist
  2. Open your browser’s console (F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I in Chrome)
  3. Paste the code below and hit Enter
function clearWatchLater() {
  const videoItems = document.querySelectorAll('.video-item');
  
  if (!videoItems.length) {
    console.log('No videos found or all cleared.');
    return;
  }
  
  let count = 0;
  
  function removeNext() {
    if (count < videoItems.length) {
      console.log(`Removing video ${count + 1}/${videoItems.length}`);
      
      const optionsBtn = videoItems[count].querySelector('.options-button');
      if (optionsBtn) {
        optionsBtn.click();
        
        setTimeout(() => {
          const removeOption = Array.from(
            document.querySelectorAll('.menu-option')
          ).find(option => option.textContent.includes('Remove from Watch Later'));
          
          if (removeOption) {
            removeOption.click();
            count++;
            setTimeout(removeNext, 500);
          } else {
            console.log('Remove option not found. Skipping.');
            count++;
            setTimeout(removeNext, 500);
          }
        }, 500);
      } else {
        console.log('Options button not found. Skipping.');
        count++;
        setTimeout(removeNext, 500);
      }
    } else {
      console.log('Finished removing videos.');
    }
  }
  
  removeNext();
}

clearWatchLater();

The script clicks through each video’s menu and selects ‘Remove from Watch Later’. You might need to run it a few times for large playlists.

Let me know if it helps or if you have any tweaks to suggest!

2

woa, thats pretty slick! i tried it out n it worked like a charm. only thing is it took a while for my huge playlist lol. maybe add a way to pause/resume? also, heads up to anyone using this - make sure ur not accidentally deleting stuff u wanna keep!

3

As someone who’s battled with an overflowing ‘Watch Later’ list for years, I can’t thank you enough for this solution, SparklingGem! I’ve tried manual deletion before, but it’s painfully slow and tedious. Your script is a game-changer.

I’ve been using it for the past week, and it’s been working flawlessly. One tip I’d add from my experience: if you have a massive list like mine (embarrassingly over 1000 videos), consider running the script in smaller batches. I found that doing about 200-300 at a time and then refreshing the page helped prevent any potential browser hang-ups.

Also, for those worried about accidentally deleting important videos, I’d recommend creating a separate playlist for ‘must-watch’ videos before running this script. That way, you can clear your ‘Watch Later’ list with peace of mind. Thanks again for sharing this brilliant solution!

4

I’ve been using this script for a while now, and it’s been a real time-saver. One thing I noticed is that it sometimes struggles with videos that have been removed or made private. To address this, I added a timeout check to skip these problematic videos:

setTimeout(() => {
  if (!removeOption) {
    console.log('Remove option not found. Skipping.');
    count++;
    setTimeout(removeNext, 500);
  }
}, 2000);

This modification has made the script more robust in my experience. Also, consider running it during off-peak hours to avoid any potential issues with YouTube’s rate limiting. Overall, great solution for managing an unwieldy Watch Later list!