Introducing YouTube Handles : Best practices for choosing a YouTube Handle

YouTube will be introducing handles to make it easier for members of the community to find and connect with each other. Your handle will be unique to your channel and will be how people mention you in comments, community posts and more.

Here’s what you need to know:

We’re gradually rolling out the ability to choose a handle for all channels over the coming weeks, and you will receive another email and a notification in YouTube Studio when you’re able to choose yours. In most cases, if you already have a personalised URL for your channel, we’ve reserved this for you as your handle. If you want a different handle from the one that we’ve reserved, you can change it. If you don’t already have a personalised URL today, you’ll also be able to choose a handle for your channel.

Starting on 14 November 2022, if you haven’t yet selected a handle for your channel, YouTube will automatically assign you a handle, which you can change in YouTube Studio if you’d like to.

What is a YouTube handle?

A YouTube handle is a new way for people to find you and connect with you. Unlike channel names, handles are unique to each creator, making it easier for you to establish a distinct presence on YouTube.

Handles & channel URLs

Your new handle will become a part of your channel URL. In most cases, your personalised URL will become your handle. You can use your handle to direct people to your channel when they’re not on YouTube. For example, if your handle is @user123, your channel URL will be https://youtube.com/@user123

Where will my handle appear?

We’re rolling out handles gradually to all channels over the next few weeks. Once it has been rolled out to all users, your handle will begin appearing in a few places across YouTube, including: • The Shorts tab • Search results • Comments and mentions In some places, we will start showing your handle alongside your channel name, such as your channel page. In the future, you may see your handle shown in even more places across YouTube.

How will I know when I can choose my handle?

You’ll get a notification in YouTube Studio once you can choose a handle. We’re rolling out the launch of handles gradually to all channels over the next few weeks. For most channels, if you already have a personalised YouTube URL, it will automatically become your handle. Whether you have a personalised URL or not, you can change your handle or select one once you’ve been notified.

Why can’t I choose my preferred handle?

A handle may not be available for several reasons. In most cases, it’s either because another channel already selected that handle, or it did not meet our handle selection guidelines. You can select one of the automatically generated handles provided by YouTube or choose another available handle.

Best practices for choosing a handle

Select a handle that best represents your public identity on YouTube.

If you’re contributing to the YouTube community for the first time (for example, by making a comment or uploading a video), a channel is automatically created. At that point, you’ll be prompted to select a handle. Note that having a YouTube account does not necessarily equate to having a channel. Supervised users will not have access to handles.

View or change a handle

You’ll be notified in YouTube Studio and by email when you can choose your handle.

1. Go to youtube.com/handle on a computer or on a mobile device with the YouTube app.
   • If you don’t have the YouTube app installed, you’ll be prompted to download it.
2. Select Choose handle or Change handle.
   • You may already have a reserved handle based on your custom URL.
3. Type in the handle field to check the availability of your preferred handle.
   • You can also choose one of the suggested handles, or the pre-filled handle based on your channel name.
4. Once you’ve found an available handle, click Confirm selection.