What Does A Highlighted Comment Mean On YouTube?

When you open a YouTube video, you might come across a label right above a comment that reads "Highlighted commented" in dark gray lettering on a lighter gray background. Highlighted comments serve a slightly different purpose than pinned ones, which are shown at the top of the comments section below the video and are selected by the creators. Highlighted comments are actually user-specific ones that YouTube highlights, making it easier to see. No other users can see these highlighted comments, unlike pins, which everyone sees.

You can think of it as similar to bookmarking a page in Chrome, or even bookmarking links in iMessage; no one knows what you've actually bookmarked unless they've accessed your account or seen your screen while you're logged in. Even if this YouTube feature is more personalized, it might sound a bit unexciting if it's just another way to redirect your attention within a busy comment section. But there are some things you can do with it to make things more engaging.

One example is that you can share them. It turns out that each one has a unique URL that can be copied and sent to anyone as long as the "lc" remains in the URL. And sometimes, highlighting and sharing linked comments is a fantastic way to point out funny reactions or quirky replies on a particular video.

The process for highlighting and sharing a YouTube comment doesn't require a YouTube Premium subscription to access this somewhat hidden feature; anyone with an account can do it. Some of the methods do require a little luck, depending on what you're trying to highlight. Essentially, the easiest luck-based way to get a comment highlighted is to click a notification to view the comment (like someone liking or replying to one you put on a video); YouTube will then mark the alert as a highlighted comment.

If you're a YouTube creator and end up clicking through your notifications when someone adds a comment, that comment may also be highlighted for you. If you want to show everyone a particular comment instead of just sharing it, you should consider using the pin feature to grant it public focus. The other method for highlighting a comment on someone else's video is to manually click through the timestamp when it was posted. The timestamp is next to the username where the comment was posted. Clicking it will refresh the page and move that comment to the top, labeling "Highlighted comment" beneath that video.

Once you have a comment highlighted, either by clicking through alerts or by selecting a comment's timestamp, the URL displayed in the address bar will change, and you should see an "&lc" included in the link. Anyone opening this exact link will see the video and the highlighted comment. Removing the "&lc" and the character string will just redirect the user back to the original video and the untouched comment section.