YouTube Editor cannot delete published videos?
If you have editor access but the delete option is missing or greyed out, the cause is almost always the wrong role or the wrong Google account — not a YouTube bug.
The ability to delete a published video is part of the Editor role on YouTube. If you cannot find the option, cannot click it, or get an error when you try, something in the access setup is not what you expect.
The two most common culprits: you were given Editor Limited access instead of full Editor access (a common mistake owners make for freelancers), or you are signed into a different Google account than the one that received the invite. Both look identical from the outside — you can open YouTube Studio, you can see the channel — but certain actions are quietly blocked.
What you are seeing and why
Match your situation to the most likely cause before trying anything.
| What you’re seeing | Likely cause | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| No delete option visible on the video | Editor Limited role, or wrong Google account | Editor Limited does not include deletion rights. Full Editor does. Check which role the owner actually assigned. |
| Delete option is there but clicking it does nothing or errors | Account mismatch or role not fully synced | You may be viewing the channel under a different account than the invited one, or a recent access change has not propagated yet. |
| You can delete some videos but not others | Videos uploaded from a different context | This is unusual but can point to playlist or content restrictions. Confirm the role with the channel owner. |
| The owner says you have Editor access, but the role shown is different | Owner chose the wrong role when inviting | Editor Limited and Editor look similar in the invite flow. The owner may have selected the wrong one. |
If you are not sure which role you have, ask the channel owner to open YouTube Studio → Settings → Permissions and read out your exact role label.
Check these before asking for a new invite
- Sign out of all Google accounts and sign back in with the exact account that received the invite — not a personal account or a work account with the same name.
- Open YouTube Studio (studio.youtube.com) directly, not YouTube.com, and switch to the correct channel using the channel switcher.
- Ask the channel owner to go to YouTube Studio → Settings → Permissions and confirm your role is "Editor" — not "Editor (limited)".
- If your role is Editor Limited, ask the owner to change it to Editor. This is a one-step change in the Permissions settings; no new invite is needed.
- If your role is already Editor but deletion still fails, try in a private browser window signed into the invited account only.
Editor vs Editor Limited — the difference that matters here
YouTube has two editor-level roles that look almost identical to channel owners when sending an invite. Full Editor access includes uploading, editing, and deleting videos, as well as managing thumbnails and playlists. Editor Limited gives most of the same content access but strips out revenue visibility — and in practice, channel owners often select it by default for freelancers without realising it restricts deletion.
If your role is Editor Limited and you need to delete videos, the fix is straightforward: the channel owner changes your role to Editor in YouTube Studio → Settings → Permissions. There is no need to revoke and re-invite.
Delvia
Access issues are easier to prevent when roles, owners, and responsibilities are recorded clearly
Most access problems trace back to the same gap — no clear record of who has access, what role they hold, and what should happen when that changes. Delvia helps you keep that record so problems are visible before they become incidents.