As a YouTube user, you invest a lot of time in your content and channels. We know that it can be a stressful and difficult situation when your channel is hacked. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to recover your channel.
Before taking action, it's important to double check for signs that your channel may have been hacked.
Every YouTube channel is associated with at least one Google Account. When a YouTube channel is hacked, it means that at least one of the Google Accounts associated with the channel is also compromised.
If you notice any of the following, your Google Account may have been hacked, hijacked or compromised:
- Changes that you didn't make: Your profile picture, descriptions, email settings, AdSense for YouTube association or sent messages are different.
- Uploaded videos that aren't yours: Someone has posted videos as your Google Account. You may get email notifications about these videos for penalties or strikes against bad content.
Google Accounts may be hacked, hijacked or compromised for various reasons. These reasons include harmful content (malware) and deceptive emails disguised as a type of service that you're familiar with (phishing). To keep your account safe, never share your email address and password information with others. Never download files or software from a source that you don't trust.
To recover a hacked YouTube channel, it's necessary to first recover the hacked Google Account associated with the YouTube channel.
There are three steps to recover your YouTube channel:
| 1. Recover and secure the hacked Google Account associated with the YouTube channel | |
| 2. Revert unwanted changes on the YouTube channel immediately to avoid policy repercussions like Community Guidelines or copyright strikes | |
| 3. Reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your Google Account by using security best practices with all associated channel users |
Recover your Google Account
You can still sign in to your Google Account
It's important to update your password and secure your Google Account. Then, move on to the next step.
You can't sign in to your Google Account
For help with getting back into your Google Account:
- Follow the steps to recover your Google Account or Gmail.
- You'll be asked some questions to confirm that it's your account. Answer the questions as best as you can.
- If you have trouble, try the tips to complete account recovery steps.
- Reset your password when prompted. Choose a strong password that you haven't already used with this account. Learn how to create a strong password.
Ask your channel managers/owners to follow the same steps to secure their Google Account.
Revert your channel to its pre-hacked state
When a hacker gains control of your channel, there are several changes that they can make to your account and its associated Google Account. Learn more about cleaning up a hacked YouTube channel.
Reduce the risk of unauthorised access
Once you have completed the above steps, it's important to secure the Google Account linked to your YouTube channel.
If your channel was terminated after your Google Account was hacked
Once you recover your Google Account, you can find an email with more details about how to appeal channel termination in your inbox. Once you've recovered your hacked Google Account, you can appeal with this form. Your appeal may not be accepted if the account recovery is incomplete.
Get additional help from YouTube
If your channel is eligible (for example, if you're in the YouTube Partner Programme), once you recover your Google Account, you can get in touch with the YouTube Creator Support team for help.
If you're not eligible for Creator Support, you can get help from @TeamYouTube on Twitter.
Frequently asked questions
I've recovered my channel, but how do I know whether the hacker has been kicked out?
If the hacker uploaded videos that violate YouTube's Community guidelines, will I get in trouble? Could my channel be terminated?
One of the people who manages my channel had their account hacked. What can I do to prevent hijacking in the future?
It's common for channels on YouTube to have more than one manager. You can improve the safety and security for your channel with these steps:
- Make sure that you and the people on your team have taken steps to secure your accounts.
- Use the Channel permissions tool and Brand account tools to make sure that only authorised accounts have access to manage your channel, and only at the permission level that you want. Don't share passwords or sign-in info with anyone else. The only access to your channel should be through the accounts authorised with the channel permissions feature.
- To help prevent data breaches, use a different email for your YouTube channel from the one that you use for other accounts. If you use the same email across platforms and someone gets access to it, they can take over your YouTube and other accounts all at once.