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What Kids Say Online Can Linger. Here’s How to Clean It Up.

Helping kids keep their digital footprints a little smaller

Author

Laureen Hudson
June 10, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

A lot of Gen Xers breathe a sigh of relief that our awkward, loud, boundary-pushing years weren’t recorded online. We made dumb jokes in cafeterias, not comments sections. There’s no searchable record of us being edgy at 13.

That’s not the case for today’s kids.

Recently, 404 Media reported on a new tool that collects public YouTube comments and uses AI to generate a profile about the person who made them. That profile might include guesses about where they live, what languages they speak, and what kinds of topics they care about.

It’s not perfect. It’s not foolproof. (And yes, it violates YouTube’s terms of service.) But it’s a good reminder that public comments aren’t just between you and the video creator. They can be saved, analyzed, and connected to other parts of your online presence, whether you’re an adult or a kid.

Kids aren’t thinking about consequences when they’re commenting on a Minecraft video. They’re testing boundaries. Trying on language. Being loud. And none of that should live forever in a database, or worse, be used to market to them, profile them, or punish them.

I’m not sharing this to make you anxious. I’m sharing it because it’s something you can do something about. This is a great opportunity to start a conversation with the people you look out for about how public platforms work, and why it’s worth thinking before posting.

It’s also the perfect time to review what’s already out there, for you and your kid. Anyone with a YouTube (or Google) account can view and delete their past comments. It only takes a minute.

How to Delete Your YouTube Comments

First, go to your Comment History. Once you’re there, you’ll see the full list of all the comments you’ve made on YouTube.

Click the “X” to delete the comment.

The first time you delete a comment, you’ll get a pop-up to confirm your action.

Keep going! You’ll need to delete each comment individually.

All done! Your selected comments have been removed.

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