When you load up YouTube, you likely start watching videos rather than digging into the available settings and feature. But, there is one specific feature that’s worth knowing about, and that’s the option to set up multiple channels.
With a multi-channel setup, there’s no need to keep logging in and out: You just switch between them as needed, and each channel comes with its own viewing history, playlists, recommendations, and uploads.
Think of channels as distinct spaces where you can separate out your YouTube watching, uploading, or both. Maybe you want to have one channel for the kids, or one for your hobbies, or one for your side project livestreaming games. Whatever the reasons, these channels are simple to set up and manage.
The benefits of multiple YouTube channels
YouTube
A new YouTube channel is like a fresh start with the video sharing platform: It’s a reset for your playlists, subscriptions, and recommendations. If you feel like your existing YouTube channel has got too cluttered—maybe with cat videos or AI slop—then a new channel might give you some room to breathe and start again.
Alternatively, maybe there’s some watching you want to do that won’t affect your main YouTube algorithm. Perhaps you crave a deep dive into French cinema, or long truck journeys. Maybe you want to enjoy hours-long lo-fi music mixes during the working day, without having them pop up in your recommendations the rest of the time.
A new channel also means a separate space for your uploads, which is the main reason the multiple channel feature exists. Whether you want to launch a video series on painting or hiking or anything else, you can do so without affecting your main channel or revealing your identity to the wider world. It’s a good way to experiment with ideas on YouTube.
It couldn’t be much easier to do—you can have up to 100 different YouTube channels connected to the same Google account—and while a brand new Google account gives you a lot of the same benefits, it comes with a lot of extra baggage attached (like a Gmail address) and a much longer setup process.
There’s another advantage to separate YouTube channels if you’re a subscriber to YouTube Premium as well: All of your benefits, including an ad-free experience and the ability to download videos, get carried over to your other channels.Â
How to set up multiple YouTube channels
YouTube
You can switch between multiple YouTube channels in the mobile apps for Android or iOS, but to create new channels you need to be on the YouTube website in a desktop browser. Click your account profile picture (top right), then choose Settings. On the next screen, pick Add or manage your channel(s).
Any channels you’ve already created are shown, together with your main channel. Click Create a channel to make a new one, then give it a name and a picture, and choose a handle—obviously it’ll need to be something unique that isn’t already taken on the platform. Click Create channel, and you’re done.
When the channel is created, you’ll be taken to the YouTube Studio, where you can click Customize channel to tweak settings such as the banner image for your profile, a public description of your channel, and the homepage layout. Click View channel if you want to see how your channel page looks to other people.
The YouTube Studio is the place to go for uploading new videos, configuring their different settings, and monitoring how much attention they’re getting. However, you don’t have to use new channels for creating and uploading content: They can simply be used for browsing YouTube as well. Click your new channel picture (top right), then choose YouTube to go to the main site.
At first there’ll be no recommendations, because YouTube doesn’t know anything about this new channel, but as you start searching for and watching content, the various screens will start to fill up. As with your main channel, you can get to your history, your playlists, your liked videos and every other part of YouTube from the menu on the left.
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