Maybe you never found enough time to edit videos for your YouTube channel. Or there are videos of you, which you uploaded when you were young, and now they only give you cringe. Whatever your reason might be. You have made up your mind. You have evaluated the pros and the cons, and finally, you are ready to hit the “d” button, the “delete” button for your YouTube channel. Don’t worry, there are many digital marketing strategies you can follow to roll out your content and build your brand.
As much as having a direct button would be convenient, you have to follow a few steps to delete your account.
First, the desktop way.
How to delete YouTube channel on desktop – Summarised steps
- Sign in to your account
- Go to Settings – Advanced Settings
- Click on delete channel
- Verify your credentials
- Click on permanently delete my account
- Give a double confirmation
- Done and deleted
How to delete YouTube channel – Step by step directions with visual cues to make your navigation easier.
Sign in to your YouTube account
You need to sign in to YouTube from the account you wish to delete. Go to the homepage of YouTube and click on the sign-in button. Fill in your login details.
If it is your default channel, then you would be already signed in. However, if a different account is logged in but your login credentials are auto-saved, you can simply switch accounts and sign in to your account.
At the top right corner of your screen, you will find your profile icon. When you click on it, a drop-down will appear. Click on Settings here.
Under the settings bar on the left > Click on Advanced settings.
At the bottom of the page, you will find the option of “ Delete channel.” Click on it. This will not directly delete your account. This will prompt a second verification of login details. You would need to re-verify your login credentials.
Next, you will be presented with two options here: “hide my channel” or “permanently delete my content.”
If you click on “hide my channel,” it will deactivate your account. You will have the option to re-enable your channel (like the break in a relationship before the final break up).
However, you need to note that hiding your account will –
- Make your channel name, likes, subscriptions to other channels, and subscribers to your channel private, which can be re-enabled when you reactivate your account.
- Permanently delete your comments and replies on YouTube videos.
- NOT delete your data on other Google properties.
Coming back to deleting the channel
For this, you need to click on the second option of “I want to permanently delete my account.”
This will delete all aspects of your account, i.e., your watch history, comments, subscription, uploaded content.
Check on the checkbox and as a final step, click on ‘delete my content.’
You have successfully deleted your account!
While you can delete your channel in a few steps, YouTube can take some time to delete your account. Some users have also reported as long as 30 days. But don’t worry, it will be deleted!
Now, the phone way
How to delete YouTube channel on the phone
Deleting your YouTube channel from the desktop is a lot less complicated and pretty straightforward. But sometimes, opening your laptop can feel like a task for a lazy soul.
Below are steps to delete your YouTube channel from your phone.
It’s a little longer, but here it goes –
How to delete YouTube channel on the phone – Summarised steps
Go to YouTube Studio and login to your YouTube account.
Go to Settings – Advanced Settings
Click on delete channel
Re- verify your credentials
Click on permanently delete my account
Type your channel name for reconfirmation
Click on delete my content – and it’s done!
Step by step guide
Go to https://studio.youtube.com
Enter the login details of the account you wish to delete. If you are already signed in through your YouTube account, this step will not be required.
Click on ‘Continue to Studio’. On the YouTube studio page, you will see the icon of settings on the left-bottom corner of the page.
Under the settings bar on the left > Click on Channel >Advanced Settings.
Scroll down and under the tab of
Other Settings > Click on Manage YouTube Account
You will be directed to another settings page. On the left bar, click on
Advanced settings >Delete channel
Re-verify your login credentials. Here you will get the option to hide my channel or permanently delete my content.
You already know that the option “hide my channel” refers to only the deactivation of your account.
Check the box under “I want to permanently delete my content” and click on delete my content.
Next, it will ask you to type your channel name.
Click on “Delete my content, ” and it’s done!
The good thing
You can still access YouTube content without having a channel or an account. Yes, that means you can still access those cat or baby videos!
