diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 634ff9c2..24c919a3 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ CRON_SECRET=                             # Secret for authenticating cron job re
 # YouTube integration
 YOUTUBE_API_KEY=                         # YouTube Data API v3 key
 YOUTUBE_CHANNEL_ID=                      # YouTube channel ID to fetch videos from
+YOUTUBE_UPLOAD_VISIBILITY=               # YouTube upload privacy: "public", "private", or "unlisted" (default: "private")
 
 # Vercel
 VERCEL_PROJECT_PRODUCTION_URL=           # Production URL (auto-set by Vercel)
diff --git a/lib/youtube-upload.ts b/lib/youtube-upload.ts
index 722e7084..6c7954d1 100644
--- a/lib/youtube-upload.ts
+++ b/lib/youtube-upload.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,14 @@ oauth2Client.setCredentials({
 
 const youtube = google.youtube({ version: "v3", auth: oauth2Client });
 
+function getDefaultPrivacyStatus(): "public" | "private" | "unlisted" {
+	const envValue = process.env.YOUTUBE_UPLOAD_VISIBILITY?.toLowerCase();
+	if (envValue === "public" || envValue === "private" || envValue === "unlisted") {
+		return envValue;
+	}
+	return "private"; // Default to private when not set
+}
+
 interface UploadOptions {
 	title: string;
 	description: string;
@@ -28,6 +36,8 @@ export async function uploadVideo(opts: UploadOptions): Promise<{ videoId: strin
 	const response = await fetch(opts.videoUrl);
 	if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`Failed to fetch video: ${response.statusText}`);
 
+	const resolvedPrivacyStatus = opts.privacyStatus || getDefaultPrivacyStatus();
+	console.log(`[youtube-upload] Uploading "${opts.title.slice(0, 60)}" with privacy: ${resolvedPrivacyStatus}`);
 	// Convert Web ReadableStream to Node.js Readable stream
 	// googleapis expects a Node.js stream with .pipe(), not a Web ReadableStream
 	const buffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());
@@ -44,7 +54,7 @@ export async function uploadVideo(opts: UploadOptions): Promise<{ videoId: strin
 				defaultLanguage: "en",
 			},
 			status: {
-				privacyStatus: opts.privacyStatus || "public",
+				privacyStatus: resolvedPrivacyStatus,
 				selfDeclaredMadeForKids: opts.madeForKids ?? false,
 			},
 		},