Before you start:
A YouTube channel is automatically connected to an account. There are two different types of accounts:
Google Account | You need a Google Account to sign in to YouTube. Your channel name is automatically the same as the one on your Google Account. |
Brand Account |
A Brand Account is an account that is specifically for your brand. This account is different from your personal Google Account. If a channel is linked to a Brand Account, more than one Google Account can manage it. |
Learn how to create a Brand Account:
Before you continue, check if you already have a Brand Account.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Go to your channel list.
- Click Create a channel.
- Fill out the details to name the Brand Account and verify your account.
- Click Create.
Risks of channel transfer
You can move your channel and its videos over from one Brand Account to another, as long as they’re associated with the same Google Account. This process is known as a channel transfer.
It is your responsibility to protect sensitive account sign-in info and proactively create a plan to maintain access to your account before any issues arise. To recover your channel, follow these tips for account recovery.
What you will lose as a result of completing a Brand Account transfer:
Account | Content that’s lost |
Brand Account A: Associated with channel that’s being transferred |
|
Brand Account B: Associated with channel that’s being replaced (deleted upon transfer of Brand Account A) |
|
Move your channel from one Brand Account to another Brand Account:
Note that if your account is a supervised account,you cannot move your channel. A school account may have the option to transfer its channel based on the qualifications for channel transfer.
Before you begin, verify that:
- Your Google Account is the primary account owner.
- You’ve opted your channel out of channel permissions in YouTube Studio. This would apply if your channel had been using a Brand Account and moved to permissions.
- To opt out, select “Opt out of permissions in YouTube Studio” under YouTube Studio's Settings Permissions.
- You haven’t given other users access to your channel with channel permissions.
- To continue, you must first remove these users in Studio. Learn how to remove access.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Click your profile picture.
- If needed, switch accounts to the Google Account associated with the channel you want to move.
Warning:
You can accidentally delete the wrong channel. To avoid this mistake, check that you’re in the Google Account associated with the channel you want to move.
For example, Channel A is your old channel. Channel B is the one you’re transferring to. You must sign in to the account for Channel A.
- Click Settings.
- Click Advanced settings.
- Next to the Move channel section, select Move channel to your Google Account or to a different brand account.
- Choose the account that you want to move to from the list on your screen. If you don’t have a list of accounts, troubleshoot using the steps above.
- If the account you choose is already associated with a YouTube channel, click Replace, then select Delete channel in the box that pops up.
- Important: Doing so will delete the channel that is already associated with that account. Any content associated with this channel will be permanently deleted, including videos, comments, messages, playlists, and history.
- Check how your channel name will appear after moving, then click Move channel.
- Note: You may be asked to enter your password and re-authenticate. Learn more about re-authenticating your account.