Are YouTube comments not loading or showing up for you?
Many people are reporting that they are unable to see YouTube comments.
The comments might be working on the YouTube app, but not on the website.
Hence, a workaround to see YouTube comments is to use the YouTube app instead of the website.
But if you want to fix the issue on the YouTube website, there are additional steps that you need to take.
You may have tried restarting your PC, but the comments still do not load.
This is because the problem isn’t from your PC, but from somewhere else.
In this article, you’ll learn why YouTube comments are not loading and how you can fix it.
Why are YouTube comments not loading?
YouTube comments are not loading either because of the uncleared cookies and site data of YouTube, kids-friendly content, or restricted mode has been enabled.
When you visit YouTube on Chrome, its site data and cookies are stored on your computer.
At times, YouTube’s site data and cookies might cause issues with comments.
When that happens, YouTube comments will not load or show up.
Secondly, if a video is marked as kids-friendly, the comment section of it will be disabled.
There’s nothing you can do to enable the comment section unless you’re the creator of the channel.
Lastly, if restricted mode has been enabled, YouTube comments will be disabled.
Some public computers have restricted mode on, so you have to contact the system administrator for assistance.
Otherwise, you can try using another device to see YouTube comments.
Read on to find out how you can fix YouTube comments if they are not loading.
How to fix YouTube comments not loading
To fix YouTube comments not loading, you need to clear YouTube’s data from your site settings.
After you’ve cleared the data, log in to YouTube and you should be able to see the comments again.
The most common reason why YouTube comments are not loading or showing is because of a cookie-related issue.
This affects the YouTube website and not the app.
However, the issue happens on Chrome more than any other browser.
Hence, if you try using the YouTube app, you should be able to see the comment section under any video.
Here are the 3 steps to fix YouTube comments not loading:
1. Navigate to your Chrome settings
Chrome browser > three dots > Settings.
To begin with, navigate to the top navigation bar on Chrome.
On the top navigation bar, you’ll see three dots next to your profile picture.
Click on the three dots to open a menu.
There are several options in the menu including “New tab”, “New window”, “New incognito window”, and more.
On the bottom of the menu, you’ll see an option that says “Settings”.
Click “Settings” to go to your Chrome settings.
Settings > Privacy and security.
After you’ve clicked on “Settings”, you’ll land on your Chrome settings.
On the left of your screen, you’ll see a sidebar with multiple options.
Click on “Privacy and security” to go to your privacy and security settings on Chrome.
This will allow you to change your privacy and security settings such as enabling or disabling site notifications.
You’ll also be able to clear a site’s data.
Proceed to the next step to find out how you can control your site settings.
2. View your Site Settings
Privacy and security > Site Settings.
After you’ve clicked on “Privacy and security”, you’ll land on the “Privacy and security” section.
There are four options on the section including “Clear browsing data”, “Cookies and other site data”, “Security”, and “Site Settings”.
“Clear browsing data” allows you to clear the cache, cookies, and history on Chrome.
“Cookies and other site data” allows you to control your cookie settings.
“Security” allows you to enable safe browsing and other settings.
Lastly, you can control the information sites can use via “Site Settings”.
Click on “Site Settings” as you’ll be needing it to clear YouTube’s data later on.
Recent activity > View permissions and data stored across sites.
Under “Site Settings”, you’ll see your recent activity, permissions, and content.
Under “Recent activity”, you’ll see the sites that you’ve recently controlled the permissions for.
For example, if you’ve recently blocked the notifications for a website, that website will show up on your “Recent activity”.
On the bottom of the section, there’s an option that says “View permissions and data stored across sites”.
Click on “View permissions and data stored across sites” to see your permissions and data of sites that you’ve visited.
3. Search for YouTube and clear all of its data
Search for YouTube > three dots > Clear data (for every YouTube URL).
After you’ve clicked on “View permissions and data stored across sites”, you’ll see a list of sites that you’ve visited.
The list of sites is sorted by “Most visited” by default.
On the top right of the section, you’ll see a search bar.
On the search bar, search for “YouTube” and hit enter.
The search results will then display all of YouTube’s storage (e.g. 20.9 MB) and cookies (e.g. 18 cookies).
To get YouTube comments to load again, you need to clear all of YouTube’s data.
To do that, click on the three dots next to a YouTube URL.
Then, you’ll be given two options including “Reset permissions” and “Clear data”.
Click on “Clear data” to clear YouTube’s data.
Repeat this until you’ve cleared the data for each and every YouTube URL.
Keep in mind that each time you clear a site’s data, you may have to log in to it again.
So, after you’ve cleared YouTube’s data, you will be logged out of it.
Lastly, go to YouTube, log in to your account, and navigate to any video.
This time, the comments should load properly under the video.
You’ve successfully fixed the comments on YouTube and got it to show up again!
Conclusion
Cookies and site data are known to cause loading issues for certain websites like YouTube.
This is especially so if you’re using YouTube on Chrome.
To mitigate the comments loading issue on YouTube, you can add YouTube to the “Always clear cookies when windows are closed” setting.
To do so, navigate to your Chrome settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data > Always clear cookies when windows are closed > Add > youtube.com.
This will automatically clear the cookies on YouTube when you close it.
Further Reading
Why Is My YouTube Channel Under Review for Monetization?
