Video visibility

Public means anybody can find it. Unlisted means anybody holding the link can watch, while nobody without one comes across it in search or recommendations. Private restricts it to you and a short list of accounts you invite by email. Scheduled is public with a timer on it. Where creators get caught is treating unlisted as private, since an unlisted link can be shared, embedded and posted anywhere by whoever receives it. Watch time on private and unlisted videos also does no work for you, because the Partner Program watch-hour requirement counts public long-form and live-stream watch time only.