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Whether it’s because you have multiple YouTube channels, have a few old unwatched videos, or want to start fresh to rebrand and refocus your content, deleting your YouTube channel is quick and painless. We’re here to show you how to do it in five easy steps—all under five minutes.
And if you’re more of a visual learner, we have step-by-step instructions with screenshots included.
The first step is simple: Open YouTube, and click the "Sign In" button in either the top right or middle left of the YouTube homepage to access the YouTube account you want to delete.
Once you’ve signed in, click on your profile icon in the top right corner. You’ll find the “Settings” tab toward the bottom of the drop-down menu. Click on it to move to the next page.
You’ll land on a page with a variety of account options on the left hand side; these are your YouTube account settings. Find the “Advanced settings” tab, and click it.
On this page, you can also create a new channel and manage billing and payments.
On the advanced settings page, you’ll find the “Delete channel” button toward the bottom. If you’re worried that deleting your YouTube channel will also delete the Google account that’s connected to the channel, don’t be. Deleting your YouTube account won’t delete your Google account.
On clicking “Delete channel,” you’ll be prompted to reenter your login information to verify you’re the rightful owner of the account.
After you’ve verified that you are, in fact, you, you’ll land on a screen that has two drop-down options: “I want to hide my channel” and “I want to permanently delete my content.”
Hiding your channel will more or less deactivate your account. Your channel name, videos, likes, subscriptions, and subscribers will all be made private. If you want to go on a hiatus or make your content private without permanently deleting your YouTube channel, hide your channel. You also have an option to reverse this choice and reactivate your YouTube account at any time.
If you’re ready to make a complete break, delete your account. This means your entire channel name, URL, playlist, videos, likes, subscriptions, and comments will be permanently removed from YouTube.
On clicking “I want to permanently delete my content,” you’ll get a drop-down menu with more information. Simply check both the boxes to confirm you’re deleting everything. Essentially, YouTube is making sure you understand you’ll be permanently losing all of your YouTube channel history, including comments, replies, search and watch history, and paid subscriptions.
If that’s what you want, check both the boxes and then click “Delete my content,” and just like that, you’re done. YouTube knows you want to delete your YouTube account and all the content associated with it, so you’ll be marked for deletion.
Don’t worry if it doesn’t happen immediately; it can sometimes take a few hours or even a day or two for your channel to disappear completely.
Congratulations! In under five minutes, you’ve successfully removed all of the content on your YouTube channel and are ready to start fresh. And don’t worry, you can still watch any and all YouTube videos you want because you don’t need a YouTube account to watch them.
Check out these free video making software and video editing software options to create and edit YouTube video content. Compare multiple tools on functionality and usability, and read reviews from real users like you.
We hope this guide has prepared you to turn your content into a cash cow. And if you’ve found this article helpful, there’s even more resources for your YouTube channel on our site:
A Guide to YouTube Thumbnail Images (Dimensions, Best Practices, and Examples)
Here’s Everything You Need to Know About YouTube Demonetization Rules
What is YouTube Premium, And What Does it Mean For My Business?
We also recommend taking a look at the tools in our video making and video editing software directories, where you can compare tools’ functionality and usability, as well as read reviews from real users like you.
Collin Couey