How do you add a private comment on Google Classroom?
From the assignment or question itself. On a computer, Google’s student guide gives these steps:
- Go to classroom.google.com and sign in.
- Click the class.
- Open the work. On the Stream page, click the assignment or question. On the Classwork page, click it and then View assignment or View question.
- Click Add private comment.
- Type your comment and click Post.
You can also leave one while you hand work in. Google’s turn-in guide says to add a private comment to your teacher “under Private comments, enter your comment and click Post” before you click Turn in or Mark as done (which button you get). Private comments can use bold, italic, underline and bulleted lists.
In the Classroom app on Android or iPhone, tap the class, tap the assignment or question on the Stream page, tap Add private comment at the bottom, type your comment and tap Post.
Can other students see private comments on Google Classroom?
Not in Google’s description. Google’s student guide says that if you don’t want to post in the class stream, “you can send a private comment to your teacher on an assignment or question,” and every Google guide we read names teachers as the readers. Class comments are the public kind. Google’s student guide describes the class stream as the place you “communicate with your class,” and class comments also appear under assignments and questions.
| Private comment | Class comment | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | On an assignment or question, to your teacher | On a post in the class stream, or under an assignment or question |
| Who reads it | All teachers in the course | Your class |
| If your teacher turns off student comments or mutes you | You can still send one | You can’t post or comment |
| Formatting | Bold, italic, underline, bulleted lists | Stream comments are text only, with no pictures, links or videos |
| After you delete it | Teachers can still view it | Teachers can still see it |
The third row comes from Google’s teacher guide: “Even if you don’t allow students to post or comment, they can still send you a private comment on an assignment or question,” and “Muted students can still send you private comments.”
Can teachers see private comments on Google Classroom?
Yes, every teacher in the course, co-teachers included. Teachers can turn on an email notification called “Private comments on work” for when “a student sends you a private comment,” and Google says teachers “can also reply to public and private comments directly within email notifications.”
Inside Classroom, teachers answer from the grading tool. Google’s teacher guide: “If the student responds to your comment, you can read it and reply in the grading tool.” With Google Workspace for Education Plus or the Teaching and Learning Add-on, a teacher can also record audio, video or the screen as a private comment.
How do you see private comments and your teacher’s replies?
Open the assignment or question again. Google says “When you open an assignment or question, you can view all responses your teacher makes.” Private comments your teacher adds while grading show up the same way: “The student sees and responds to your comment when they open the returned assignment.”
To check several at once, click Your work on the class card, then click an item’s title and View details to see its attachments and comments. If you get Classroom email, the student notification “Private comments on work” tells you when “a teacher sends you a private comment.”
Can you delete or edit a private comment?
Write each one as if it will stay. Google’s teacher guide says “Private comments can’t be edited or deleted after you post them.” That line is written for teachers, and Google’s student guide gives no steps for removing a private comment either. The student guide does say “All teachers can view private comments even after they have been deleted.”
Class comments in the stream can’t be edited either. Google says students “can’t edit their posts or comments, but they can delete them,” and “Teachers can see deleted comments.” Google’s teacher help also says a removed student’s posts and comments stay in the class stream (how to leave a class on Google Classroom).
Can parents or guardians see private comments?
Google’s guardian pages don’t list them. Guardian email summaries cover missing work, upcoming work and class activity, which Google defines as “Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.” Google also says the summaries and guardian previews “do not include grades.” Guardians can only be added for students who use Classroom with a Google Workspace school account.
What is a private comment good for?
Anything about your own work that your teacher should see before grading: a question about the instructions, a note that a file is coming late, or a correction to something you turned in. Google’s question guide calls it “a private comment or question for your teacher.” Since every teacher in the course can read it, write it the way you would write an email to your teacher. Work not turned in by the due time is marked Missing (what Missing means in Google Classroom).
Where Silent Student fits
We make Silent Student, a desktop app for Mac and Windows from El Dorado Ignition LLC. It is built for Canvas, and Google Classroom isn’t supported. Our free Google Classroom grade calculator needs no account.
Questions people ask
Who can see private comments on Google Classroom?
All teachers in the course, including co-teachers. Google names teachers as the readers of private comments, and classmates aren’t among them.
Can other students see private comments on Google Classroom?
No. In Google’s guides a private comment goes to your teacher on an assignment or question. Class comments are the ones your classmates read.
Can teachers see deleted private comments on Google Classroom?
Yes. Google says all teachers can view private comments even after they have been deleted.
How do I add a private comment on Google Classroom?
Open the assignment or question, click Add private comment, type your comment and click Post. You can also add one under Private comments when you turn work in.
Can I send a private comment if my teacher turned off comments?
Yes. Google says students can still send a private comment on an assignment or question when the teacher doesn’t allow posting or commenting, and muted students can still send them.
Sources
All fetched and checked October 29, 2026.
- Post to the class stream (Google Classroom Help, for students; computer, Android and iPhone versions)
- Turn in an assignment (Google Classroom Help, for students)
- Answer a question (Google Classroom Help, for students)
- Find your Classwork (Google Classroom Help, for students)
- Give feedback on assignments (Google Classroom Help, for teachers)
- Set student permissions to post and comment (Google Classroom Help, for teachers)
- Manage notifications (Google Classroom Help, for teachers and students)
- About guardian email summaries (Google Classroom Help, for students)
- Get Classroom email summaries (for guardians) (Google Classroom Help)
How this guide was made. We read each Google Classroom Help article listed above on October 29, 2026, including the Android and iPhone versions of the student stream guide, and quote them directly. We wrote the guide with AI assistance and checked each quote against its source, then re-checked every quote against the live pages on November 2, 2026.
Related: How do you unsubmit an assignment in Google Classroom? · Mark as done vs Turn in · What can teachers see on Canvas? · Google Classroom grade calculator · How to respond to a discussion post · All guides
Written by the company that makes Silent Student. Silent Student is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google. Google Classroom is a trademark of Google LLC.