To delete a YouTube channel, open YouTube Studio on a computer, go to Settings, then Channel and Advanced settings, select Remove YouTube Content and choose to permanently delete your content. That removes the channel and its videos, comments, messages, playlists and history, but not the Google Account you sign in with. If you're not sure you want it gone for good, YouTube also lets you hide the channel and bring it back later. Steps below follow YouTube Help as of October 2026.
Hide or delete: which one fits
Both options start from the same page, but they do very different things.
Hiding makes your channel name, videos, likes, subscriptions and subscribers private. Nothing is erased, and you can re-enable the channel when you're ready. While it's hidden, you can still watch, like and subscribe, and that activity stays fully private. The catch: view counts may be inaccurate, and after you unhide the channel it can take up to a week for them to update.
Deleting permanently removes your content, including videos, comments, messages, playlists and history. YouTube adds that it may have a harder time recovering your account afterwards, so this is the choice for when you're certain.
Before you delete: save what you want to keep
Once the channel is gone, so are the uploads. Download anything worth keeping first:
- One video at a time. In YouTube Studio, select Content, pick a video and choose Menu, then Download. You get an MP4 file in 720p or 360p, depending on the video size.
- Everything at once. Google Takeout can download all the videos you've uploaded.
A few videos can't be downloaded: ones that have been removed, ones with a copyright or Community Guidelines strike, and ones that use a preapproved audio track. Each video can be downloaded up to five times a day.
How to delete your YouTube channel
You can't currently delete a channel on mobile devices, so use a browser on a computer.
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- Select Settings in the left sidebar.
- Select Channel, then Advanced settings.
- At the bottom, select Remove YouTube Content. Enter your sign-in details if you're asked.
- Select I want to permanently delete my content.
- Tick the boxes to confirm, then select Delete my content.
Deletion can take some time to finish, and thumbnails of your videos may stay visible on the site for a short while.
How to hide your channel instead
The route is the same until the last choice: YouTube Studio, Settings, Channel, Advanced settings, Remove YouTube Content. Then select I want to hide my channel, tick the boxes that confirm what will be hidden and select Hide my channel.
To bring it back, sign in to YouTube, go to create a channel and fill out the form; this restores the hidden channel. Don't pick the option to use a business or other name, because that creates a new channel instead. For a Brand Account, tap your profile picture, then Settings, Account and Add or manage your channel(s), select the hidden channel and confirm when asked to create a channel. Your videos and playlists can then be made viewable again from the Videos page.
Does your Google Account survive?
Yes. YouTube says these steps only delete the channel, not the Google Account you sign in with, so Gmail, Drive and the rest carry on. Two cases work differently:
- Deleting the Google Account itself removes everything in it, including subscriptions and content you bought on YouTube or Google Play.
- Deleting the primary owner account linked to a channel deletes the channel too.
Smaller steps than deleting
If the problem is a few old uploads rather than the whole channel, change their visibility in YouTube Studio under Content. Private videos can only be seen by you and the people you choose, and they don't appear on your channel's Videos tab or in search. Unlisted videos can be watched by anyone with the link but stay off your channel's Videos tab and out of search, unless someone adds them to a public playlist.
Keeping the channel and starting over? Our free YouTube subscribers and free YouTube likes only work with a public channel and public videos, so they won't work while a channel is hidden. Read YouTube's fake engagement policy before using any outside service, ours included: YouTube doesn't allow anything that artificially increases views, likes, comments or other metrics, and subscribers identified as spam don't count towards your total. Treat any boost as small and temporary. All free YouTube services are on the YouTube page.
Sources: support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com, support.google.com