To fix YouTube comments not loading, reload the video, check whether Restricted Mode is hiding them, then restart or update YouTube and check your browser extensions. Open another video to see whether the problem affects one comments section or several. After each change, reopen the affected video and check its comments.
The short version
- Start small: Reload the video and make sure its comments panel is expanded.
- Check restrictions: Restricted Mode hides comments, and viewers cannot override a creator’s decision to turn them off.
- Isolate the cause: Compare a private browser window, another device, or another connection.
- Clear data later: Try updates and extension checks before deleting cookies or resetting app storage.
| Check | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Reload the YouTube page | The website loads only part of the page |
| Reload without cached resources | Desktop Chrome still shows an incomplete page |
| Expand the mobile comments panel | The app shows a comment preview or a Short |
| Choose Newest first | Comments load but a particular comment is missing |
| Check desktop Restricted Mode | Comments are hidden in a desktop browser |
| Check app Restricted Mode | Comments are hidden in the mobile app |
| Check mobile website Restricted Mode | Comments are hidden on the mobile website |
| Check enforced restrictions | You cannot change the restriction locally |
| Check parental controls | A parent manages the account’s restriction |
| Close and reopen the iPhone app | YouTube is unresponsive |
| Force-stop YouTube on Pixel | The Pixel app remains stuck |
| Update YouTube on Android | An app update is available |
| Update YouTube on iPhone or iPad | An app update is available |
| Try a Chrome Incognito window | The problem appears confined to Chrome |
| Try a Safari private window | The problem appears confined to Safari on Mac |
| Check Chrome extensions | Comments work with extensions disabled |
| Check Safari extensions | An extension may interfere on Mac |
| Use Firefox Troubleshoot Mode… | Extensions, themes, or acceleration may interfere |
| Disable a Firefox extension | Firefox’s diagnostic mode restores comments |
| Disable Firefox hardware acceleration | Firefox’s diagnostic mode restores comments |
| Update Chrome | A browser update is available |
| Allow JavaScript in Chrome | Scripts were disabled in desktop Chrome |
| Allow JavaScript in mobile Safari | Scripts were disabled on iPhone or iPad |
| Clear the Pixel app cache | The app still fails after simpler checks |
| Delete YouTube’s Chrome site data | You want to clear data for YouTube only |
| Clear Chrome cache and cookies | The browser problem persists |
| Remove Safari’s YouTube data on Mac | The affected page is in desktop Safari |
| Clear mobile Safari website data | The affected page is in iPhone or iPad Safari |
| Clear Pixel app storage | Less disruptive app checks have failed |
| Compare connections, devices, and app access | You need to narrow down where the failure occurs |
| Enable iPhone cellular access | YouTube cannot connect away from Wi-Fi |
| Check Apple device network filters | A VPN or filtering app may interfere |
| Check Safari with Private Relay bypassed | Private Relay is active on the Mac’s network |
| Check incident updates | The failure continues across devices and networks |
| Send desktop feedback | The loading problem remains unresolved |
Reload the video and open its comments
On the YouTube website, select Reload in the error message or use your browser’s reload button. YouTube says a temporary minimal watch page can play videos while leaving out comments during a service interruption. If reloading makes no difference, compare another video before changing settings.
Desktop Chrome can reload the page without using cached resources. With the YouTube tab active, press Ctrl + Shift + R on Windows or Linux, or Command + Shift + R on Mac. This refreshes page resources without deleting all your browsing data.
In the mobile app, tap the comment preview beneath the video to expand the panel. For a Short, tap Comments to the right of the video. A collapsed panel does not mean comments failed to load.
When comments load but a particular comment is missing, select Sort by > Newest first. This can reveal comments omitted from Top comments, but it is not a guaranteed fix for a spinning panel. If the creator has turned comments off, you cannot enable them as a viewer; made-for-kids and private videos also cannot have comments enabled.
Check Restricted Mode
Restricted Mode hides video comments, so check it before clearing anything. On desktop YouTube, sign in, select your profile photo, and open Restricted Mode. Turn off Activate Restricted Mode, then check the video again. Repeat this check in each affected browser or browser profile.
In the Android or iPhone/iPad app, sign in and open your profile photo > Settings > General. Turn off Restricted Mode. The profile button’s position can vary, so follow the setting names.
The mobile website uses a different route. At m.youtube.com, select your profile photo > Settings > Account, then turn off Restricted Mode. Reopen the affected video to check its comments.
A local toggle cannot override an enforced account or network restriction. On a school, workplace, library, home-filtered, or carrier-filtered connection, open youtube.com/check_content_restrictions and inspect the account and network results. If DNS filtering is moderate or strict, contact the network administrator or mobile carrier to change the filter. Managed account restrictions also need an administrator’s involvement.
If you manage an eligible child account through Family Link, select the child if necessary, then open Controls > YouTube and turn off Restricted Mode when that control is offered. A child cannot change a parent-enforced setting. Supervised accounts also have separate limits on reading and writing comments.
Restart and update the YouTube app
For an unresponsive iPhone app, close YouTube and reopen it. On a Face ID iPhone, swipe up from the bottom and pause, find YouTube, then swipe its preview upward. On an iPhone with a Home button, double-click Home, find YouTube, and swipe its preview upward. Reopen YouTube after closing it.
On a Pixel phone, open Settings > Apps > See all apps > YouTube > Force stop. Tap OK, then reopen YouTube. Other Android manufacturers may use different app-information paths.
Next, install any available YouTube update. On Android, open Google Play Store, select your profile picture, then open Manage apps & device > Updates available, find YouTube, and tap Update. Some layouts label the management menu Manage apps & devices.
On iPhone or iPad, open App Store, select your profile icon, and open App Updates to install the available YouTube update. If the app still fails, open the same video at youtube.com in a current browser to compare.
Check private browsing and extensions
In desktop Chrome, open More > New Incognito window and open the affected video with extensions disabled. In Safari on Mac, choose File > New Private Window and open the video. If comments work there, session data, settings, or extensions may be involved; the result alone does not identify which one.
In Chrome, open More > Extensions > Manage extensions. Turn extensions off, reload YouTube, then re-enable them individually and reload between changes. Check ad blockers, script blockers, privacy tools, and YouTube customization extensions, leaving an interfering extension disabled or using its supported YouTube allowlist.
In Safari on Mac, open Safari > Settings > Extensions and deselect the suspected extension. Reopen the affected video and check whether comments load.
Firefox offers a broader diagnostic mode. Open its menu, choose Help or Help and Report > Troubleshoot Mode…, then select Restart and Open. This temporarily disables extensions, themes, and hardware acceleration, so a successful result points toward one of those areas.
When Firefox’s diagnostic mode helps, open the menu > Extensions and themes > Extensions and turn off a suspected extension. Some versions capitalize the menu as Extensions and Themes. Retest the video after the change.
If the diagnostic mode helped and you need to check acceleration, open Settings > General > Performance; some layouts use Tabs and browsing instead of General. Uncheck Use recommended performance settings, then uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available. Restart Firefox and check YouTube again.
Also bring Chrome up to date through More > Help > About Google Chrome. Let the update check finish and select Relaunch when available. Linux distributions may require their package manager, while Chromebook updates come through the operating system.
Restore JavaScript if you disabled it
If scripts were disabled in desktop Chrome, open More > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Javascript. Select Sites can use Javascript, then reload YouTube.
If JavaScript was disabled in Safari on iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced. Turn on JavaScript and reopen the YouTube page.
Clear stored data only where needed
On Pixel, clearing YouTube’s cache removes its cached files. Open Settings > Apps > See all apps > YouTube > Storage & cache, then select Clear cache. Reopen YouTube before trying anything more disruptive.
Deleting YouTube’s Chrome site data removes its stored site data and may require you to sign in again. In desktop Chrome, open More > Settings > Privacy and security > Third-party cookies > See all site data and permissions. Search for youtube.com, select its Delete icon, and confirm with Delete. Reload YouTube.
If the problem persists, clearing Chrome’s cache and cookies removes cached files, cookies, and site preferences; account sign-in may be required again. Open More > Delete browsing data and set the time range to All time. Select Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data, deselect other categories you want to keep, then select Delete data. Reopen YouTube and sign in if needed.
In Safari on Mac, removing YouTube’s website data deletes its stored browser data. Open Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data, select YouTube’s entry, and select Remove. Select Done and reopen YouTube in a normal window.
For Safari on iPhone or iPad, clearing history and website data removes browser history and website data, not the YouTube app’s cache. Open Settings > Apps > Safari > Clear History and Website Data, then tap Clear History. Use this route only when the affected comments are in Safari.
As a later step for a persistent Pixel app problem, clearing storage erases locally saved YouTube app data. Open Settings > Apps > See all apps > YouTube > Storage & cache. Select Clear storage or Clear data, tap OK, and reopen YouTube.
Compare your connection and another device
Open the same video using Wi-Fi and then mobile data, or compare another available network. Also try another device and compare the official YouTube app with the website. These comparisons help narrow down the affected app, device, account, or connection and may provide temporary access to comments.
If YouTube cannot access mobile data on your iPhone, open Settings > Cellular and turn on Cellular Data. Find YouTube in the app list and enable its cellular-data access. This check matters when the app fails away from Wi-Fi.
On Apple devices with a third-party VPN or filtering app, open that app, temporarily turn off its connection or filtering feature, and retest YouTube. Restore any setting that does not affect the problem. To find relevant controls, search Settings on iPhone or iPad, or System Settings on Mac, for VPN, profile, firewall, or filter. Organization-managed settings require administrator involvement.
In Safari on Mac, when Private Relay is active for the network, choose View > Reload and Show IP Address. Check whether comments load after that reload.
Check for an outage and report persistent failures
When the same failure continues across devices and networks, check the YouTube Help Community’s Known Issues and featured TeamYouTube posts. Follow any instructions for the matching issue, or wait and retry after recovery. A partial service interruption can leave video playback working while comments remain missing.
To report an unresolved problem from desktop YouTube, sign in, select your profile picture, and choose Send feedback. Include the affected video, device, browser or app version, and the troubleshooting steps you performed, then select Send. Sending feedback does not immediately repair the comments panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you open YouTube comments on a TV?
On supported smart-TV and game-console apps, select the video’s title, then select the comments tile in About. Select a comment to read it or its replies. You can also open YouTube on your television and phone using the same Google Account, then tap Connect when the phone offers to connect to the television. Read and interact with the television video’s comments on your phone.
Can a supervised child account read YouTube comments?
Supervised kid accounts using Teens or Older teens can read comments but cannot write them, while Older kids does not allow reading comments. If you are the parent, open your YouTube app, select your profile picture, then open Settings > Family Center > the child > What they can watch > Content setting. Choose the appropriate setting and tap Select.
Why is your comment missing when other comments load?
Your comment may be held for moderation, removed, or affected by hidden-user settings. Held comments can remain under review for up to 60 days. On your own channel, open YouTube Studio, go to the Held tab, and choose Approve for a comment you want to publish. On another channel, its moderation process controls release.
Can YouTube app Incognito help diagnose missing comments?
In mobile apps offering Incognito, select your profile picture > Accounts > Turn on Incognito while signed in, then open the same video. This compares signed-out behavior without removing the device’s Google account. Posting comments requires signing in.
Should you install Flash to fix YouTube comments?
You should not install or enable Flash to fix YouTube comments. Chrome no longer plays Flash content, so that advice is obsolete. Use current browser and JavaScript troubleshooting instead.