Google Takeout YouTube History
Google Takeout can export your full YouTube watch history: every video you watched while signed in, with its title, channel and the time you watched it. Select only YouTube at takeout.google.com, switch the history format to JSON, and the archive arrives with a file called watch-history.json.
The YouTube app only shows your history as an endless scroll. The export gives you the whole record as one file. This page covers how to export it, what each file contains, and how to read it without opening raw JSON.
How to export only your YouTube history
You do not need a full account export. A YouTube-only export is smaller and arrives sooner:
- Go to takeout.google.com and sign in.
- Click Deselect all, then tick YouTube and YouTube Music.
- Click All YouTube data included. Keep history selected. Untick videos unless you want your own uploads, which can be very large.
- Click Multiple formats and set History to JSON.
- Choose ZIP, click Create export, and wait for the email.
Without your own uploaded videos, a YouTube history export is usually small. See how long Google Takeout takes for typical waits, or the full Google Takeout instructions if you want other products too.
HTML or JSON: pick JSON
YouTube history is one of the few Takeout items where you choose the format. The default is HTML, which opens in a browser as a long page of "Watched" links. It is readable for a few minutes of scrolling, but you cannot count, sort or filter it easily.
JSON holds the same history as structured records, so a tool can add things up. TakeoutReader counts watched videos in either format. The year-by-year view is read from the JSON timestamps only, so pick JSON if you want it.
What is inside the YouTube export
Inside the ZIP, everything sits under Takeout/YouTube and YouTube Music/. The files that matter for history are:
- history/watch-history.json. One record per video watched, including YouTube Music plays.
- history/search-history.json. Every search you typed into YouTube while signed in.
- comments/ and live chats/. Comments and live chat messages you posted, exported as CSV in recent archives.
- playlists/ and subscriptions/. Your playlists and the channels you follow.
Each watch record is short. It has a title ("Watched" followed by the video title), a titleUrl linking to the video, a subtitles block naming the channel, and a time in ISO 8601 format. Videos that were later deleted or made private often keep only their link. For how the raw files are structured in general, see Google Takeout JSON files.
Sample data · your real report will look like this
YouTube Activity
Free previewAd Profile
Every other section is a record of something you did. This one is what Google concluded about you from it.
Google Photos
Location History
Search Activity
Chrome Browsing
Android Activity
Gmail
What TakeoutReader shows from your YouTube history
Drop the ZIP onto TakeoutReader and the YouTube section of the report gives you:
- Total videos watched. Every watch event in the history file, counted in either format.
- Your most active year. The year with the most recorded activity, read from the JSON timestamps.
- Comments and likes. Counted when the export includes them in a format the reader can open.
The YouTube section sits beside your search, Chrome, location and ad-profile sections in the same report, so you can see how YouTube compares with the rest of what Google holds. For the wider picture, see what does Google know about me.
Have your YouTube export? Read it now.
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Why your export may have gaps
If the history looks shorter than you expected, one of these is usually why:
- Auto-delete. For accounts created since June 2020, YouTube History is deleted after 36 months by default (checked October 2026). Anything older is gone, and Takeout cannot bring it back.
- History was paused. Nothing is recorded while watch history is paused in your YouTube settings.
- Signed-out viewing. Videos watched while signed out, or in a private window, never reach your account.
- Brand accounts. A YouTube channel run as a brand account has its own history, exported from that account rather than your personal one.
Reading it without uploading it
Your watch history says a lot about you: your interests, your habits, the hours you keep. Be careful with sites that ask you to upload the file to their server. TakeoutReader reads the ZIP inside your browser, so the history never leaves your device. Our guide is Google Takeout safe covers how to store and delete the export afterwards.
Want the other activity categories too? The Google activity hub links to the guides for search history and Chrome history.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export my YouTube watch history with Google Takeout?
Go to takeout.google.com, click Deselect all, then tick YouTube and YouTube Music. Open All YouTube data included and keep history selected, then open Multiple formats and set History to JSON. Choose ZIP and click Create export. Google emails a download link when the archive is ready.
Where is the watch history inside the Takeout ZIP?
In the YouTube and YouTube Music folder, under history. The file is watch-history.json if you picked JSON, or watch-history.html if you kept the default. Your YouTube search history sits beside it as search-history.json or search-history.html.
Should I choose HTML or JSON for YouTube history?
JSON. HTML opens in a browser as a long page of links, which is fine for scrolling but hard to count or sort. JSON is structured: one record per video with the title, the video link, the channel and the time. TakeoutReader can count videos in either format, but the year-by-year view needs JSON.
Does the export include videos I watched while signed out?
No. Watch history only records videos watched while signed in to your Google account, with watch history turned on. Videos watched in a private window, while signed out, or while history was paused are not in the file.
How far back does YouTube watch history go?
As far back as your history setting allows. For accounts created since June 2020, YouTube History auto-deletes after 36 months by default. Older accounts, or accounts that switched auto-delete off, can hold a decade or more. Defaults checked October 2026. The export shows what is actually stored.
Is it safe to open my YouTube history in an online tool?
Only if the tool reads the file in your browser. TakeoutReader parses the ZIP locally with JavaScript, so your history never leaves your device. You can check this in your browser's Network tab while the report builds.
Turn your YouTube history into a readable report
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