There can be various reasons for wanting to delete your own YouTube channel. Perhaps you’re ready to leave the Google platform entirely and explore YouTube al­ter­na­tives. Whatever the reason, we will explain step by step how the deletion process works.

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How to save your videos 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create more pro­fes­sion­al videos, become an in­flu­encer or improve your YouTube SEO ranking, your old videos or an outdated channel may no longer fit your brand’s image.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 yet backed up copies of important videos, download them as follows (as MP4 files):

  1. Sign into your YouTube account.
  2. Click on your profile picture and select “YouTube Studio”.
  3. Navigate to “Contents” on the left.
  4. Select a video and click the three-dot icon.
  5. Press the “Download” button to download the selected video as an MP4 file.

How to delete a YouTube channel quick guide

When you need it done fast and per­ma­nent­ly. Simply follow our quick guide.

  1. Sign in to YouTube with your YouTube or Google account cre­den­tials.
  2. Open the “Settings” menu by clicking on your profile picture in the top right and then on the gear icon.
  3. Click on “Advanced settings”.
  4. Select the “Delete channel” option.
  5. To confirm the deletion process, enter your cre­den­tials again and confirm them via “Next”.
  6. Select “I want to hide my channel” (without deleting) or ir­rev­o­ca­bly remove the channel with “I want to per­ma­nent­ly delete my content”.
  7. Check the “The following will be per­ma­nent­ly deleted” box to delete all content as well as the “your paid sub­scrip­tions will be canceled” box.
  8. Complete the process by clicking “Delete my content” to delete your YouTube channel per­ma­nent­ly.
Tip

Get a personal email address from IONOS. This includes your desired domain and customer support.

How to delete YouTube channel step by step

Here we have sum­ma­rized the in­di­vid­ual steps for how to delete your YouTube account or channel.

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube

Sign in to the YouTube website with the Google account as­so­ci­at­ed with your YouTube channel.

Image: YouTube website: “Sign in” button
YouTube website: “Sign in” button

Step 2: Access settings

Go to the “Settings” menu by clicking on your profile picture in the top right and then on the gear icon.

Image: YouTube “Settings”
YouTube “Settings”.

Step 3: Open the advanced settings

Click “Advanced settings” at the bottom of the Settings menu.

Image: “Advanced settings” in the YouTube menu
“Advanced settings” in the YouTube 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.

Image: “Delete channel” in “Advanced settings” in YouTube
“Delete channel” option in “Advanced settings” in YouTube

Step 5: Verify YouTube account

Confirm the Google account as­so­ci­at­ed with the channel by entering your password and then clicking “Next”.

Image: Delete YouTube channel: Verify linked Google account
Ver­i­fi­ca­tion of linked Google account by entering a password.
Note

Do you only want to delete your YouTube history or just in­di­vid­ual YouTube videos? In this case, you can keep your channel. Delete the history in your YouTube account by selecting the option “Clear all watch history” in the menu under “History”.

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”. By ac­ti­vat­ing the field below, you can cancel all paid sub­scrip­tions as­so­ci­at­ed with the account (e.g. YouTube Premium). 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.

Note

Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you can de­ac­ti­vate your channel via “I want to hide my channel” and make it invisible (without deleting it).

Image: YouTube: Permanent deletion of YouTube channel
Per­ma­nent­ly delete your YouTube channel
Tip

Always remember to back up important files and in­for­ma­tion. Avoid data loss with secure and flexible HiDrive cloud storage from IONOS.

How to delete a YouTube channel in YouTube Studio

Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you can also delete your channel via the Creator feature YouTube Studio:

  1. Sign into your YouTube account.
  2. Click on your profile picture and go to “YouTube Studio”.
  3. Select “Settings” in the top right.
  4. Click “Channel”, then “Advanced settings”, and finally “Remove YouTube content”.
  5. Confirm the operation with your password and then click “Delete content” to delete the channel.
Note

If you’re looking to com­plete­ly realign your brand or company’s presence online, don’t forget about your other social media profiles when you delete your YouTube account. 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.

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