Do YouTubers Delete Negative Comments?

It is no secret that YouTube has a bit of a reputation for less than positive comments. Indeed, it is often considered good advice to up and coming YouTubers to avoid the comments altogether. Like most social platforms on the web, many-a-YouTuber has learned the hard way that no matter how well they might conduct themselves online and on their channel, they can’t control how the people who watch their content act.

Or can they?

As a YouTuber there are many tools at your disposal to help make your channel as friendly as possible. You can report spam comments, hide particular commenters so that their comments don’t show up on your videos any more, and, yes, delete comments entirely.

Do YouTubers Delete Negative Comments?

As you’ve probably already guessed, the answer to this question is not as simple as it perhaps could be. Which is to say; the answer is yes, YouTubers do delete negative comments—it certainly does happen. But not all YouTubers, and there’s no practical way of knowing what percentage of YouTubers do, though we suspect it’s a minority.

For larger YouTubers who can get hundreds—even thousands—of comments a day, it is simply not practical to delete every negative comment. Even if the negative comments made up a vanishingly small portion of the overall comments, they would still have to be aware of those comments, and noticing a few comments among thousands—no matter how mean or inappropriate—is a difficult task to say the least!

Still, someone YouTubers nevertheless make the effort to prune comments of anything that is not conducive to the kind of atmosphere they are trying to build with their channel, so let’s take a look at some of the reasons a comment may find itself being removed.

Why Do YouTubers Delete Comments?

There are several reasons a comment might find its way into the trash, and none of them are universal, which is to say that something that might be perfectly acceptable in the comments of one channel might be wholly inappropriate on another. There is, of course, a practically endless list of reasons why a YouTuber might choose to delete a comment, including things like “because I don’t like them”, but we’re going to focus on the most common reasons.

Explicit Language

One of the most common reasons to remove comments is because they contain explicit language. In this case, it is the language itself, rather than the content or intent of the comment, that gets the message deleted.

This could be because the YouTuber wants to foster a family friendly community around their channel, or it could just be because they don’t like explicit language. Whatever the reason, if you are commenting on a channel like this, find ways to express yourself that don’t involve swearing!

Offensive Comments

A couple of caveats need to be made here. Firstly, when we say “offensive”, we are talking as universally as possible. Offence is a very subjective thing, and what offends one person might not offend another, but we can generally assume that if someone is maliciously insulting someone else, it is an offensive comment.

The second caveat is that offensive comments are distinct from explicit language. It is possible to use explicit language in a way that is not offensive (beyond any offence caused by the word itself). For example, it is very common in the UK to use explicit language when talking to a friend. On a similar note, it is perfectly possible to be offensive without using explicit language.

So what do we mean by offensive comments? Generally speaking, anything that is attacking someone else, whether it be personal insults or insults directed at a group of people with obvious intent to upset.

Hot Button Topics

This one is a little trickier since what constitutes a hot button topic these days changes so quickly. Essentially we are talking about any topic that tends to polarise people and cause arguments, with religion and politics being two of the biggest culprits for this.

Again, not every YouTuber will care if these things are being talked about in their comments, but for YouTubers who want to foster a friendly atmosphere and a sense of community, it is often best to keep these kinds of topics out of the comments altogether, as they invariably end in arguments, division, and bad blood.

Troll Comments

Trolls are not always the easiest thing to identify, since part of their shtick is often mocking or insulting you without you realising, which is why this type of comment is separate from offensive comments, since trolls may not necessarily be offensive in any given comment.

It is more a pattern of behaviour than a specific comment. It could be repeated comments criticising silly things, or criticising the same thing over and over. We’re not suggesting YouTubers should delete any criticism they get, but when criticism isn’t constructive, it serves no useful purpose.

Spam Comments

Spam comments tend to get reported as such, rather than just deleted, but they do get deleted. These are comments that are only there to draw attention to something else, like another channel, or a website. They are usually identifiable by the fact that use generic language and in no way reference the content of your videos. And, of course, they will attempt to link out to something else in the body of the comment. Some spam comments don’t link, but rely on the curiosity of the reader to click on their profile based on what they have said. Regardless, they add little value to the community and rarely share anything that your viewers would be interested in.

Videos for Children

While there are a range of things that can be considered offensive, hurtful, or inappropriate to an adult, most adults can, ultimately, manage their emotional state sufficiently to come away from such a situation unscathed, but what about children. Most of us can agree that children should be protected to some degree from the more unsavoury elements of online interaction. How much of a degree that is, and what age it stops, are things people will probably never come to a unanimous agreement over.

As it turns out, YouTube has taken the decision out of our hands. Videos that feature children automatically have commenting disabled, so there is no fear of child viewers running into unpleasant comments on those videos. Indeed, the YouTube Kids app does not have the ability to show comments at all.

It’s worth remembering this because some YouTubers do deactivate their comments entirely, and some of those YouTubers are heavily criticised for it (typically when the content of the video is controversial or, ironically, offensive), so remember, if the video features children, it probably wasn’t the YouTuber’s choice to disable the comments.

Censorship

Another reason you may see comments vanish from a YouTube video’s comment section is YouTube themselves.

Although heavily criticised, YouTube does on occasion remove comments that present as red flags in the ever-changing algorithm that YouTube has going on behind the scenes.

We won’t pretend to know what YouTube deems unacceptable enough to remove without consulting the YouTuber whose video the comments are on, but they have been known to remove harsh language about nations, and even comments containing Chinese-language words related to the Communist Party (CCP), though in the case of that last one, YouTube claimed it was an error.

How to Avoid Getting Your Comments Deleted

If you’ve found that your comments get deleted often, there is likely behaviour that you need to change to stop that from happening. If it only ever happens with one particular YouTuber, we’re not saying it’s impossible that the YouTuber has a problem with you specifically. However, more often than not, the problem is with the commenter, especially if it happens across multiple channels.

The most general advice we can give is to just be polite. If you are constantly getting into arguments with people, calling people names, saying mean things about the creator of the videos you’re commenting on, you significantly increase the chances that your comment will get deleted.

More specifically, try to observe the type of community that has formed around the videos you are commenting. If every comment is wholesome, friendly, and free of bad language, your comments probably should be as well. On the other hand, if everyone is swearing and insulting each other, you should be safe to do the same.

Final Thoughts

It can be frustrating when you get your comments deleted, or comments are closed, and you can’t contribute in the first place. Try to remember that it’s not always the YouTuber’s conscious decision to remove your comments. And, when they did take the time and effort to specifically remove your comment, most of the time, they will have had a reason for it.

And, if you are a YouTuber, the best thing you can do when it comes to deleting comments is find a balance. Try not to stifle the conversations your videos create, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to create the type of community you want to create.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.

Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube

I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.

I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.

That is why I could not live on YouTube without someone like PlaceIT. They offer custom YouTube Banners, Avatars, YouTube Video Intros and YouTube End Screen Templates that are easy to edit with simple click, upload wizard to help you make amazing professional graphics in minutes.

Best of all, some of their templates are FREE! or you can pay a small fee if you want to go for their slightly more premium designs (pst – I always used the free ones).

5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the StoryBlocks website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.