How Do I Permanently Delete My YouTube Account?

If you are sick of YouTube, planning a social media break, or are committed to being online less, deleting your YouTube account is a relatively easy process with these helpful tips.

Nov 19, 2019

If you are sick of YouTube, planning a social media break, or are committed to being online less, deleting your YouTube account is a relatively easy process. Follow these few steps to permanently delete your YouTube account.

  1. Go to www.youtube.com

  2. In the top right corner, select 'Sign In.'

  3. You will be asked to sign in with your phone number or email, and your password.

  4. In the top right corner, there is a circle icon with either your profile picture or a symbol in it. Select the icon, and then click on 'My Channel.'

  5. In the left corner of your screen, there is a menu panel. Scroll to the bottom of the menu and select 'Settings.'

  6. On the new page, go to the menu panel on the left side of your screen. At the bottom of the menu, select 'Advanced Settings.'

  7. You will be redirected to a new page. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select, 'Delete Channel.'

  8. You will be redirected to sign in again to your Google account with your email address or phone number, and password.

  9. Once you have signed in, you will be given two options to choose from: 'I want to hide my content' or 'I want to permanently delete my account.'

    • If you choose to hide your content, your YouTube videos and playlists will be hidden. However, your channel name, channel page, your channel art and icon, your subscriptions, and your likes will all still be viewable. If this is not an ideal solution for you, it's best to proceed with permanently deleting your YouTube account.

  10. Select the downward facing arrow next to the 'I want to permanently delete my account' to see a list of all the content that will be deleted. Items that will be deleted include:

    • Any videos you posted
    • Any playlists you have created
    • Your subscriptions to other channels
    • Any comments that you made on YouTube
    • Your replies and thumbs-up on comments
    • Your messages
    • Your search and watch history
  11. Select the checkmark box next to the list of content that will be deleted, and click 'Delete My Content.'

  12. You have successfully permanently deleted your YouTube account. You will receive an email to the email account associated with your YouTube account, confirming that you have deleted the account.

Note that when you delete your YouTube account, you have not deleted the Google or Gmail account that was associated with it.

Additionally, note that closing your YouTube account means you will lose all the unique parts of the account including your subscriptions, search histories, favorite videos, video lists, your groups, and more.

It is possible to recover a permanently deleted YouTube account with the help of YouTube customer support if you act quickly after deciding to delete the account. If too much time has passed, the account may be irretrievable.

Further questions?

Ask a followup or related question and we will try to provide an answer in seconds.
Adam has been tirelessly trying to help customers find the best tips and tricks to get through phone trees and writing many guides for prickly customer service problems. He's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inside Edition and Bloomberg.
How Do I Permanently Delete My YouTube Account?

Help from Real People

We partner with a US-based company with live tech support experts available 24/7. Take advantage of a $5 one-week trial membership and chat with an expert now.
Chat with an expert

Why does GetHuman Write How-to Guides for YouTube Problems?

GetHuman has been working for over 10 years on sourcing information about big organizations like YouTube in order to help customers resolve customer service issues faster. We started with contact information and fastest ways to reach a human at big companies. Particularly ones with slow or complicated IVR or phone menu systems. Or companies that have self-serve help forums instead of a customer service department. From there, we realized that consumers still needed more detailed help solving the most common problems, so we expanded to this set of guides, which grows every day. And if you spot any issues with our How Do I Permanently Delete My YouTube Account? guide, please let us know by sending us feedback. We want to be as helpful as possible. If you appreciated this guide, please share it with your favorite people. Our free information and tools is powered by you, the customer. The more people that use it, the better it gets.

YouTube

Asked 4 years ago
Updated 4 years ago
Viewed 2,023,153 times
YouTube
Delete Account
YouTube account
Close account
account issues
Customer helpline
Delete Account

Speak to An Expert Now

We partner with a US-based expert help site to provide you with tech support 24/7. Enjoy a $5 one-week trial membership and chat with a live expert now.
Get Live Expert Help
Was this page helpful?
Thank you and please share!
Thank you and please share!
Needs work
Sharing is what powers GetHuman's free customer service contact information and tools. You can help!