With that said, there are some steps that can be taken to limit exposure on YouTube without going through the extra trouble. In fact, it is entirely possible to delete your entire channel on YouTube without the hassle. That is, so long as you know where to look. And there are several factors that do make the process more cumbersome. For example, because YouTube is owned by Google and the two accounts are inexorably linked, the process is a bigger hassle than some might hope. In fact, it’s essentially impossible to delete one without deleting the other. This guide, as a result, doesn’t explain how to delete a Google account. Instead, it exists as an explainer through the process of deleting a YouTube Channel. As well as to highlight the less intuitive aspects of the process. Additionally, it can be used to simply hide your YouTube channel or to move your account to a branded channel. That’s if you’d rather do that instead. But as is so often the case with how-to guides, that’s better discussed within the guide itself. So without further ado, let’s dive into how you can delete your YouTube account, insofar as that’s possible.
There are some restrictions, for now, when it comes to accomplishing this
Now, it’s worth pointing out that there are both benefits and drawbacks to deleting your YouTube account. For instance, you’ll most likely still see personalized results on YouTube. But any comments you’ve made, messages between your channel and others, watch history, and shared content will be gone. As will your playlists. Those won’t be saved in the future either. That is unless you create a new channel. It’s worth noting at this point that your content and other items will be gone permanently upon deletion. They will not be recoverable by any means. So any content that you’d rather save should be before starting either by downloading content individually or by other means. To completely remove your account beyond that, you’d need to completely deactivate your Google account. As the two are invariably linked together. One of the biggest drawbacks, in terms of the process itself, is that you can’t actually accomplish this from the mobile app. You’ll need to either use a computer, whether a full-sized laptop or a desktop device. Or you’ll need to open your favorite browser and access YouTube.com from Desktop Mode for your mobile browser. The only way to completely circumvent sign-in without deleting Google is to access the site from your favorite browser’s Incognito mode.
Here’s how to delete your YouTube account
Now, the first step will be to open up a browser, as described above, and navigate to the YouTube.com website.
Once there, you’ll need to sign in, if you haven’t or aren’t already. Then, select the three-dash overflow menu from the left-hand side of the UI.
Once opened up, scroll down to the bottom of the overflow menu using either gestures or a mouse, depending on your preference and operating system.
Near the bottom, YouTube presents a “Settings” option. That’s accompanied by a gear or cog-shaped icon. Select that option from the list to bring up the full menu page.
On the “Settings” menu, the first page that loads will be the “Account” page by default. But that isn’t the page needed for deleting a YouTube channel. Select “Advanced settings” from the right-hand side bar. Or, conversely, from the overflow menu if you’re achieving this on mobile and the sidebar doesn’t appear.
At the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, the option to “Delete channel” is available. Select that. If you’re looking to simply move your channel to a brand account, this menu is also where that’s located. So you may choose to select that instead.
Once selected, “Delete channel” will force you to sign in once again to YouTube. This is a security measure to ensure that nobody stumbled across your account already signed in. Effectively, to prevent your account from being deleted without your knowledge or consent. Enter your password and select the “Next” button.
On the next page, you’ll see two options. Namely, one for hiding your channel from other users. And other for permanently deleting your content, as described above. If you simply want to hide your account, select that option. Otherwise, select the “I want to permanently delete my content option.” Whichever you choose, the following steps will be the same, although the on-page information will be different.
Your selected option will expand to reveal checkboxes. The “Permanently delete” option will show you what content is going to be deleted. It will also inform you of the cancelation of any YouTube-associated memberships you’ll lose when you finish canceling. For example, subscriptions to YouTube TV, Premium, or Music. The “hide my channel” option will showcase slightly different options. In either case, you’ll need to select both boxes. That informs Google that you’re aware of what you are canceling and losing. And, of course, that you consent to the removal of those. As noted above, this final step will be permanent with no recovery options available. If that’s not an issue, finally, you’ll need to select the “Delete my content” button to cancel your YouTube subscriptions and delete your channel. Your YouTube channel should no longer exist on the platform. Meaning that all comments, mentions, messages, and other associated content will go away.
