Optimize Your Content Library with Our Cleanup Tool

The Cleanup feature helps you keep your video library tidy and efficient by identifying content that has not been watched for a long period of time. Any video or audio file that has not been viewed on Switch Tube for 18 months will automatically be marked as unused and listed under the Unused tab in your profile.

This makes it easy to quickly see which videos may no longer be needed. You can preview each item, decide whether you still need it, and delete videos individually or in bulk. The goal of this feature is to support users and organisations in keeping their media libraries organised, improving storage efficiency and ensuring that only relevant content is kept.

On this page, you can:

• Browse all unused videos at a glance
• Preview each video to confirm its status
• Delete individual videos with ease
• Or, select and remove all unused videos in one quick action

This feature helps you reclaim storage, enhance performance, and keep your content library organized — all while preserving the videos you truly value.

Unused videos are detected automatically. The system regularly checks playback activity and flags videos that have not been viewed for 18 months. These videos will appear in the unused section of your profile, where you can review them at any time.

You can click on a video to watch or preview it before deciding what to do. Previewing or opening a video from this page does not reset the unused status — the system only counts actual viewing behaviour that takes place within the platform’s normal player. Embedded plays on external websites also do not count, as we are unable to track those views.

When you decide to remove unused videos, you can delete them individually or select several at once to delete in one action. Deleted videos are not permanently removed immediately — instead, they remain available in Recently deleted for up to 40 days, giving you time to restore them in case something was removed by mistake.

Every user with editing rights to a video can manage their own unused content. If you are the owner of a video or have manage rights on a channel, you will see unused items directly in your profile.

Tube Managers (organisation administrators) have additional capabilities. They can access an organisation-wide view of unused videos on the Usage page in the admin section. From there, they can trigger cleanup actions or send cleanup requests to content owners. Only one cleanup action per organisation can run at the same time to avoid conflicts and ensure data integrity.

The cleanup process helps identify and remove videos that have not been viewed for a longer period of time. If you are a Producer — meaning you are either the channel owner or have manage rights — you can review and delete unused videos directly from your profile. To do this, go to your profile page and open the Unused tab. Here you will see a list of all videos that have not been viewed in the last 18 months and that you are allowed to edit. You may preview any video from this list before deciding to delete it. Previewing a video does not count as a new view and does not remove it from the unused list. If you decide a video is no longer needed, you can delete it with a single click. You may delete videos individually or select multiple items for bulk removal.

If you are a Tube Manager, the workflow is slightly different. Tube Managers can access an organisation-wide overview through the Usage section on the admin page. In the lower part of this page, all unused videos from across the organisation are summarised. From there, a cleanup request can be initiated. When this happens, all affected video owners are notified and asked to review or delete their unused videos. Only one cleanup action can run at a time to avoid conflicts between different cleanup requests.

Once videos are deleted — whether by a Producer or through a cleanup action — they are not removed permanently right away. Instead, they remain available under Recently deleted for a period of up to 40 days, during which they can be easily restored. After that period, the videos are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

At this time, users are not automatically notified before a deletion unless the cleanup is triggered via an organisation-wide request. Only users who own the video or have manage rights are able to delete or restore content.

Definition of “Unused” Video

A video is classified as “unused” when it has not been viewed by any user for a continuous period of 18 months.

Important Note:
If a video is embedded on an external webpage or third-party platform, its viewing activity cannot be tracked by our system. As a result, such videos may remain marked as “unused” even if they have been viewed elsewhere — since our tracking mechanism is limited to views occurring within our platform.

Access Your Unused Videos

1. Navigate to your profile by clicking your name in the top-right corner of the screen.

2. From the profile menu, select the “Unused” tab to view all videos that have not been viewed in the past 18 months.

This section provides a quick, centralized view of content you may wish to review or manage — helping you maintain an organized and efficient media library.

If you delete a video from the unused list, it will first move to Recently deleted and stay there for 40 days. During that time, you may restore it at any moment. After the 40-day period, the video is permanently deleted and cannot be undone.

Deleting a video does not affect the viewing history or analytics stored so far, but the video will no longer appear in active reports or usage dashboards. If content is deleted by another user or via an organisation-wide cleanup, it will automatically disappear from your channels or collections.

Important Note Regarding the “Unused” Page

Videos listed under the “Unused” page are automatically identified as having not been viewed for the past 18 months.

Previewing or opening a video from this list — even to view its content — does not reset its status. It will remain classified as “unused” for tracking purposes, as the system evaluates usage based on actual viewing activity, not interaction or previewing.

This ensures consistent, accurate reporting of unused content across your library.

Can I undo a deletion?

Yes — deleted videos can be restored from “Recently deleted” for up to 40 days.

Can multiple cleanup actions run at once?

No — only one cleanup process per organization can run at the same time.

Reports & Export

• Cleanup reports availability: Coming soon
• CSV / Excel export: Not yet available

A Tube Producer is a user who owns a channel or has been granted manage rights for one. Producers can upload, edit and delete content, organise videos into channels or collections, and manage permissions for their own content. They also have access to the Unused section in their profile, where they can review unused videos and decide whether to keep or remove them.

A Tube Manager is an organisation administrator with extended permissions. Managers can access the platform-wide Usage area and see an overview of all unused videos within their organisation. They can initiate cleanup actions, monitor storage usage and coordinate cleanup tasks with content owners. While Producers manage their own videos, Tube Managers oversee video usage at an organisational level and ensure content remains relevant and maintained.