How to delete a YouTube channel
IONOS editorial team4 mins
A YouTube channel is not a life-long commitment. There are various reasons for why you may want to delete your YouTube channel. Perhaps the channel is too old, no longer meets your brand’s needs or you plan on leaving the Google platform behind in favor of a suitable YouTube alternative.
Perhaps you were only ever using your YouTube channel privately and are now looking to monetize with YouTube. Whatever your reason for wanting to delete your current YouTube channel, we explain how to do it step by step and which preparations you should make.
- Simple registration
- Premium TLDs at great prices
- 24/7 personal consultant included
- Free privacy protection for eligible domains
Before you delete your YouTube channel
A YouTube channel accumulates a lot of content over time. If you want to create more professional videos, become an influencer or improve your YouTube SEO ranking, your old videos or an outdated channel may no longer fit your brand’s image.
However, bear in mind that videos are irrevocably lost when you delete your YouTube channel. So if you haven’t backed up copies of important videos yet, download them as follows (as MP4 files):
- Sign into your YouTube account with your user data.
- Click on your profile picture and select “YouTube Studio”.
- Navigate to “Contents” on the left.
- Select a video with the mouse cursor and click the three-dot icon.
- Press the “Download” button to download the selected video as an MP4 file.
How to delete a YouTube channel: quick guide
Want to delete your channel? YouTube makes it easy. Just follow our quick guide.
- Sign in to YouTube with your YouTube or Google account credentials.
- Open the “Settings” menu from the left sidebar (gear icon).
- Click on “Advanced settings”.
- Select the “Delete channel” option.
- To confirm the deletion process, enter your credentials again and confirm them via “Next”.
- Select “I want to hide my channel” (without deleting) or irrevocably remove the channel with “I want to permanently delete my content”.
- Check the “The following will be permanently deleted” box to delete all content.
- Complete the process by clicking “Delete my content” to delete your YouTube channel permanently.
Get your personal email address with IONOS. This includes your desired domain and customer support.
Delete YouTube channel: step by step
In the following, we have summarized the individual steps for how to delete your YouTube account or channel.
Step 1: Log in to YouTube
Sign into the Google account associated with your YouTube channel on the YouTube website.
Step 2: Access settings
Navigate to the “Settings” from the left side menu (under the three dash icon).
Step 3: Open the advanced setting
Click “Advanced settings” at the bottom of the Settings menu.
Step 4: Start process to delete channel in YouTube
At the bottom of the “Advanced settings”, you will find the “Delete channel” section, including a link of the same name, which initiates the deletion process.
Step 5: Confirm YouTube account
Confirm the Google account associated with the channel by entering your password and then clicking “Next”.
Prefer to delete only your YouTube history or only individual YouTube videos? In that case, you can keep your channel. From your YouTube account, just delete the history (under “Data & Personalization”) or only individual videos (via “Content”).
Step 6: Delete YouTube channel for good
If you want to delete your YouTube channel and its content permanently, select the “The following will be permanently deleted” box under “I want to permanently delete my content”. Then click on “Delete my content”. You have now permanently deleted your YouTube channel. It may take a few hours for your channel to disappear from YouTube.
Alternatively, you can deactivate your channel via “I want to hide my channel” and make it invisible (without deleting it).
Always remember to back up important files and information. Avoid data loss with secure and flexible HiDrive cloud storage from IONOS.
Delete YouTube channel in YouTube Studio
Alternatively, you can also delete your channel via the Creator feature YouTube Studio:
- Sign into your YouTube account.
- Click on your profile picture and go to “YouTube Studio”.
- Select “Settings” in the left sidebar.
- Click “Channel”, then “Advanced settings”, and finally “Remove YouTube content”.
- Confirm the operation with your password and then click “Delete content” to delete the channel.
If you’re looking to completely realign your brand or company’s presence online, don’t forget to check your other social media profiles. It may be a good idea to delete your Snapchat account and Instagram account if you no longer use them and have connected them to your YouTube account.
