Find videos with voice search

Use voice search to find videos.

Manage audio recordings from YouTube voice search

Important: Based on other settings, audio recordings may be saved in other places.

When you speak to YouTube voice search, a Google service, Google uses its audio recognition technologies to process your audio and respond to you.

The YouTube audio recordings setting saves audio recordings from your YouTube voice search interactions in your Google Account with your YouTube History. As detailed below, Google can use your YouTube History to improve Google's audio recognition technologies. Unless you turn it on, this audio recording setting is off.

How audio recordings are used

If you choose to save audio recordings with your YouTube History, Google uses this audio to develop and improve its audio recognition technologies and the Google services that use them, such as YouTube voice search.

For some audio technology improvements, trained reviewers listen, transcribe, and annotate saved audio samples so Google services can better analyze the audio. Google takes steps to protect your privacy, which includes the separation of your audio from your account when reviewers analyze it.

Turn audio recordings on or off

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. Click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History.
  4. To turn the setting on or off, check or uncheck the box next to "Include audio recordings."

When the audio recordings setting is on and you turn on voice search from within YouTube while signed in to your Google Account, Google saves audio recordings in your Google Account with your YouTube History. When you use Google Search or Assistant to search YouTube, this setting doesn’t save audio.

If you use your device without an internet connection, audio may be saved in your account once you return online.

When the audio recordings setting is off and you activate voice search from within YouTube, even if you’re signed in, Google won't save audio recordings in your Google Account with your YouTube History. When you speak to Google services, in order to help us respond to you, Google continues to process your audio.

This YouTube voice search audio setting doesn’t affect audio saved and managed by other Google services you can use to search for YouTube videos with your voice, such as Google Search and Assistant. You can control whether audio from Google Search, Assistant, and Maps is saved with your Web & App Activity at activity.google.com.

If you turn off audio recordings, previously saved audio isn’t deleted. You can delete your audio recordings at any time.

Tip: If your device incorrectly detects an activation, Google might save audio. We're constantly at work to improve our systems and reduce unintended activations.

Find or delete your audio recordings

Find your audio recordings

Based on your Google Account settings, audio recordings may be saved in other places.

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left sidebar, click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History and then Manage history. You can:
    • Review a list of your past activities. Items with Audio have a recording.
    • Play the recording. Next to Audio , click Details and then View recording and then Play Play.
  4. Next to the item you want to delete, click More More and then Delete.

Important: If you get the "Transcript not available" message, the recording may have had too much background noise.

Tip: To add more security, you can require an extra verification step to view your full history.

Delete recordings from your YouTube History

Delete one item at a time

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. Click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History and then Manage history.
    • You can find a list of your past activities.
    • Items with Audio have a recording.
  4. Click Remove Remove.
  5. When prompted to "Confirm you would like to delete this activity," click Delete.

Delete one item at a time

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. Click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History and then Manage history.
    • You can find a list of your past activities.
    • Items with Audio have a recording.
  4. Click Remove Remove.
  5. When prompted to "Confirm you would like to delete this activity," click Delete.

Delete all items at once

These steps delete all of your YouTube history items, not just items that include a recording.

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left, click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History and then Manage history.
    • You can find a list of your past activities.
    • Items with Audio have a recording.
  4. To delete all items in your YouTube History, click Delete and then Delete all time.
  5. Review the YouTube activity to delete.
  6. Confirm Delete.

Delete your audio recordings automatically

The auto-delete option removes all of your YouTube History items, not just items that include an audio recording.

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left, click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click YouTube History and then Auto-delete.
  4. Choose an auto-delete option for your YouTube History.
  5. Click Auto-delete activity older than.
  6. Select how long you want to keep your activity.
  7. Click Next.
  8. Click Confirm.

Tip: Based on other settings, audio recordings may be saved in other places.

Google may delete audio sooner if it's no longer needed for development and improvement. For example, less audio may be needed for some languages over time.

Manage audio recordings

You can manage audio recordings, saved with YouTube History, at activity.google.com. For example, you can:

  • Under the YouTube History setting, turn the audio recordings setting on or off anytime.
  • Listen to your audio.
  • Choose an auto-delete option or delete audio manually.
    • Google may delete audio sooner if it's no longer needed for development and improvement. For example, less audio may be needed for some languages over time.

  • Download your audio at takeout.google.com.

You can learn about other data Google saves and why and how data is used to improve our services at policies.google.com. This includes how technologies keep your info safe and how controls help you manage your privacy across our services.

Other places audio recordings may be saved

The YouTube voice search audio setting doesn’t affect audio saved and managed by other Google services you can also use to search for YouTube videos with your voice, such as Google Search and Assistant. You can control whether audio from Google Search, Assistant, and Maps is saved with your Web and App Activity at activity.google.com.

This setting also doesn’t affect audio saved on your device for other purposes, such as when you set up and fine-tune your personal voice match or otherwise personalize audio technologies on your device.

To improve audio recognition technologies with federated learning or ephemeral learning, Google may use other machine learning processes not controlled by this setting. For example:

  • When the Improve Gboard setting is on, to help improve speech recognition for everyone, Gboard may save and process audio on your device. It doesn't send what you say to the server. Learn how Gboard gets better.
  • To improve its audio recognition technologies that use ephemeral learning, Google may process and analyze your audio in real time. This process doesn’t save audio with your YouTube History. Learn more at yt.be/speechlearningmodels.

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