YouTube Brand Account: What It Is and How to Create One
A YouTube Brand Account is a Google account specifically for a brand, separate from your personal Google Account. Link a channel to one and more than one Google Account can manage it, with no separate username or password to share. Brand Accounts created since 4 August 2021 can be linked only to YouTube channels. Checked against Google Account Help: Manage your Brand Account
There are now two ways to share a channel: roles on the Brand Account, set in your Google Account, and channel permissions in YouTube Studio, which YouTube recommends instead. Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions
Who can touch the channel is an early decision in growing a YouTube channel. If the channel doesn’t exist yet, start with our guide to creating a YouTube channel.
Table of Contents
- What is a YouTube Brand Account?
- Brand Account vs personal channel: what’s the difference?
- How do you create a YouTube Brand Account?
- What can owners and managers do?
- How do channel permissions relate to a Brand Account?
- How do you transfer ownership of a Brand Account channel?
- How do you move a channel to another Brand Account?
- Can you delete a Brand Account without losing the channel?
- Does Outfeed manage Brand Accounts?
- YouTube Brand Account FAQ
What is a YouTube Brand Account?
It’s an account for the channel rather than a person: its owners and managers each sign in with their own Google Account, so there’s no shared brand password. Checked against Google Account Help: Manage your Brand Account
Two details from Google change how you use one:
- Newer Brand Accounts are YouTube-only. Since 4 August 2021, new Brand Accounts can be linked only to YouTube channels and are marked “(limited to YouTube)”. Older ones aren’t affected.
- Having one doesn’t mean you’re using it. YouTube uses one channel at a time, so you can own a Brand Account and still be signed in to your personal channel. Checked against YouTube Help: Check if you have a Brand Account
To check whether you already have one:
On any device:
- Go to myaccount.google.com/brandaccounts. You may need to sign in first.
- Check under "Your Brand Accounts" to find your associated Brand Accounts.
- Check that you're using the right account by selecting your profile picture in the top right if you don't find anything listed.
Checked against YouTube Help: Check if you have a Brand Account.
Lost access? With no Brand Account password to reset, you recover the Google Account of an owner or manager instead, through Google’s account recovery. Checked against Google Account Help: How to recover your Google Account or Gmail Our guide to recovering a YouTube account covers that route.
Brand Account vs personal channel: what’s the difference?
YouTube’s own split: a personal channel is one only you can manage, while a channel on a Brand Account can use a business or other name and have more than one owner or manager.
| Personal channel | Brand Account channel | |
|---|---|---|
| What YouTube says it’s for | A channel only you can manage | A business or other name, with more than one manager or owner |
| Giving others access | Channel permissions in YouTube Studio | Channel permissions (recommended) or Brand Account roles |
| Changing the owner | Managers can change; owners can’t | The primary owner role can pass to another owner or manager |
| Where you create it | Settings > Add or manage channel(s) > Create a channel | Your channel list > Create a new channel |
Sources: Checked against YouTube Help: Create a YouTube channel; Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions; Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account.
Ownership is the row that matters. If someone else might ever need to own the channel (an agency that sets it up, a co-founder, an employee who leaves), start on a Brand Account.
How do you create a YouTube Brand Account?
You create one by creating a channel: in your channel list choose Create a new channel, pick a picture, name and handle, and YouTube creates a new Brand Account with the channel. YouTube Help’s steps:
On any device: YouTube on a computer or the mobile site:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Go to your channel list.
- To create a channel, click Create a new channel. (To create a YouTube channel for a Brand Account that you already manage, choose a Brand Account from the list.)
- Choose a profile picture, name, and Handle.
- Click Create channel. This creates a new Brand Account.
Checked against YouTube Help: Create a YouTube channel.
Two limits apply. A Brand Account that already has a channel can’t get a second one; choosing it from the list switches you to that channel. And YouTube lists adding channels to your account as an advanced feature, so an account without advanced features access may not be able to add one. Checked against YouTube Help: Learn about feature access for YouTube Creators
What can owners and managers do?
A Brand Account has owners, managers and communications managers, and exactly one owner is the primary owner. Owners take the most actions and control who manages the account. Managers can use Google services that support Brand Accounts, such as posting videos on YouTube. Communications managers can do the same things as managers but can’t use YouTube. Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account
On YouTube, YouTube Help adds limits for Managers: they can’t join or leave an MCN, invite other users, transfer or delete the channel, or make a purchase. Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account If uploading is their job, our guide to scheduling YouTube videos covers YouTube Studio’s own scheduler.
Owners invite people from the Brand Accounts section of their Google Account. Each invitee gets an email to accept, and you have to be an owner for 7 days before you can remove managers or owners:
On any device: Invite people (Brand Accounts section of your Google Account, in a web browser):
- Go to the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account.
- Under "Your Brand Accounts," select the account you want to manage.
- Select Manage permissions. You'll see a list of people who can manage the account.
- To invite new people, choose Invite new users.
- Enter their email addresses.
- Below their names, choose their role.
- Tap Invite, then Done.
Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account.
How do channel permissions relate to a Brand Account?
Channel permissions are YouTube Studio’s own access system: you give someone a role on the channel without giving them access to your Google Account, and YouTube recommends them over Brand Account roles. Only the Owner can delete the channel, and an Owner can’t transfer ownership to other users. Checked against YouTube Help: Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions
| Brand Account roles | Channel permissions | |
|---|---|---|
| Managed in | The Brand Accounts section of your Google Account | YouTube Studio > Settings > Permissions |
| Roles | Primary owner, Owner, Manager, Communications manager | Owner, Manager, Editor, Editor (Limited), Subtitle Editor, Viewer, Viewer (Limited) |
| Changing the owner | Primary owner can be transferred (7-day rules) | An Owner can’t transfer ownership |
| YouTube’s advice | Not recommended | Recommended |
Sources: Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account; Checked against YouTube Help: Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions; Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions.
Add someone with channel permissions
An invite expires after 30 days. On a channel connected to a Brand Account, move it to channel permissions first (next steps).
On a computer: YouTube Studio on a computer:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- On the left-hand side, click Settings.
- Click Permissions, then INVITE.
- In the “Email” field, enter the email address of the person you'd like to invite.
- In the “Access” drop-down, select the role you'd like to assign to this person.
- Click DONE.
On a computer: Remove access (YouTube Studio on a computer):
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- On the left-hand side, click Settings.
- Click Permissions.
- Go to the person you'd like to remove under "Role", click the down arrow.
- Select a new role or click Remove access.
Checked against YouTube Help: Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions.
Move a Brand Account channel to channel permissions
Only the Brand Account’s primary owner can opt in. Existing Brand Account users are copied over, but each one has to be given a role and invited again.
On a computer: Opt into channel permissions (primary owner of the Brand Account):
- Go to studio.youtube.com. You must sign in as the primary owner of the Brand Account to have the option to opt into permissions.
- On the left-hand side, click Settings.
- Click Permissions.
- Click Move Permissions.
- Click Invite.
- Fill out the Email and Access fields for each new user.
- Click Save. You may be prompted to verify your account to save changes.
- Each invited user will receive an email to accept the invite.
Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions.
People you invite this way can manage the channel on YouTube and in YouTube Studio; in YouTube’s words, “They can’t manage via YouTube APIs.” Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions
How do you transfer ownership of a Brand Account channel?
Make the new person an owner or manager of the Brand Account, wait until you both meet Google’s 7-day rules, then make them Primary owner. The person making the change must have been an owner for 7 days or more, and the new primary owner a manager or owner for 7 days or more; otherwise Google shows an error. If you’re the primary owner and want to leave, you hand the role on first.
On a computer:
- On your computer, open the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account.
- Under "Your Brand Accounts," select the account you want to manage.
- Click Manage permissions.
- Find the person listed that you want to transfer primary ownership to. (If you can't find the person, you'll need to add them as an owner. After they accept your invitation, try again from step 1.)
- Next to their name, click the down arrow, then Primary owner, then Transfer.
Checked against Google Account Help: Change who manages your Brand Account.
A channel not connected to a Brand Account can’t do this: YouTube says it can change managers but not owners. Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions
Finish the handover before anyone closes an old account. If you delete the primary owner account linked to a channel, the channel is deleted too. Checked against YouTube Help: Migrate from Brand Account user access to channel permissions
How do you move a channel to another Brand Account?
Use the Move channel option under Advanced settings in your YouTube settings: it moves a channel and its videos to your Google Account or to a different Brand Account on the same Google Account. If the destination already has a channel, that channel and all its content are permanently deleted, and YouTube says to do a transfer only if necessary. Checked against YouTube Help: Move your YouTube channel from one Brand Account to another
Before you begin, YouTube requires three things: your Google Account is the primary owner, you’ve opted the channel out of channel permissions (Settings > Permissions > Opt out of permissions in YouTube Studio), and you’ve removed anyone you gave access through channel permissions. YouTube advises opting out only to complete a channel transfer. Supervised accounts can’t move a channel.
On a computer:
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Click your profile picture.
- If needed, switch accounts to the Google Account associated with the channel you want to move.
- Click Settings.
- Click Advanced settings.
- Next to the Move channel section, select Move channel to your Google Account or to a different brand account.
- Choose the account that you want to move to from the list on your screen.
- If the account you choose is already associated with a YouTube channel, click Replace, then select Delete channel in the box that pops up.
- Check how your channel name will appear after moving, then click Move channel.
Checked against YouTube Help: Move your YouTube channel from one Brand Account to another.
Both sides lose something. The channel you move loses its watch and search history, creator demographic info and gift settings. The channel you replace loses its videos, messages, playlists, channel history and verification badge, which matters if you worked toward YouTube’s verification badge.
Can you delete a Brand Account without losing the channel?
Not while the channel is on it: Google says deleting a Brand Account removes all of its content across Google services. Only an owner who has held the role for at least 7 days can delete or restore one. A recently deleted Brand Account may be restorable from Deleted accounts in the Brand Accounts section, but Google publishes no time window for that. Checked against Google Account Help: Manage your Brand Account
To keep the videos, move the channel to another account first, using the steps in the previous section.
Does Outfeed manage Brand Accounts?
YouTube Brand Account FAQ
What is a YouTube Brand Account?
A Google account specifically for a brand, separate from your personal Google Account. When a YouTube channel is linked to one, more than one Google Account can manage it without a separate username or password. Brand Accounts created since 4 August 2021 can be linked only to YouTube channels.
What is the difference between a Brand Account and a personal YouTube channel?
YouTube Help describes a personal channel as one only you can manage, and a Brand Account channel as one that can use a business or other name and have more than one manager or owner. Only the Brand Account kind can change owners: YouTube says a channel not connected to a Brand Account can change managers, not owners.
How do I add a manager to my YouTube channel?
In YouTube Studio on a computer, go to Settings, then Permissions, click Invite, enter the person’s email, choose a role and click Done. An invite expires after 30 days. If the channel is on a Brand Account, its primary owner first moves it to channel permissions under Settings, then Permissions, then Move Permissions.
How do I transfer ownership of a YouTube channel?
Through the Brand Account. Add the new person as an owner or manager in the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account, then use Manage permissions to make them Primary owner. You must have been an owner for 7 days or more, and they must have been a manager or owner for 7 days or more. A channel not connected to a Brand Account can change managers but not owners.
Can I delete a Brand Account without deleting my channel?
Not while the channel is on it: Google says deleting a Brand Account removes all of its content across Google services. YouTube’s Move channel option can first move the channel and its videos to your Google Account or to another Brand Account on the same Google Account, but if that account already has a channel, the existing channel is permanently deleted.