YouTube Channel Permissions: Add or Remove a Manager or Editor, and What Each Role Can Do

Does this match what you see?

• You want help running your channel without sharing your password.
• Someone you invited can’t see revenue or delete videos.
• An invite expired before it was accepted.
• A team member left and still has access.

Computer (browser)iPhone & iPadAndroid

Based on YouTube Help’s “Add or remove access to your YouTube channel with channel permissions” page (Computer, Android and iPhone & iPad versions supplied by the site owner) on November 6, 2026.

Why this happens: the possible causes

The roles at a glance (YouTube).

• Role limitsCheck this first

  Each role has fixed limits; for example, YouTube says Editors can’t delete published content or manage permissions.

• Brand Account not migratedPossible

  YouTube says Brand Account channels must migrate to channel permissions first.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

Which role to give

• Manager: someone you trust to run the channel with you, including permissions and deleting content.
• Editor: an assistant or video editor who uploads and edits but shouldn’t delete published videos.
• Editor (Limited) or Viewer (Limited): the same, but without revenue data.
• Subtitle Editor: translators or captioners.
• Viewer: an accountant or adviser who only needs to look.

Our note: that mapping is our suggestion; the abilities in the table are YouTube’s. Giving channel access to a teen (13–17)? YouTube says their supervising guardian can see a dashboard of your channel’s public info.

What people you invite can’t do

• YouTube says invited users can’t use your channel in YouTube Music, the YouTube Kids app or YouTube APIs, even though the owner can.
• Private actions stay on their own account: searching, watching, history, purchases, likes and votes on posts, blocking users, and downloading videos.
• Public actions (like posting, commenting or using live chat as the channel) are credited to the channel; YouTube shows visual indicators of which is which.
• YouTube notes some actions may not be available at all when acting for a channel.

Brand Account channel: move to channel permissions

YouTube recommends channel permissions over Brand Account roles because they reduce risks like password sharing. Only the Brand Account’s primary owner can switch.

1. Go to studio.youtube.com and sign in as the primary owner.
2. Click Settings > Permissions > Move Permissions, then Invite.
3. Enter each person’s email and access level, then click Save. Verify your account if asked.

YouTube copies your existing Brand Account users over, but you still choose each person’s role and send the invites; each person accepts by email. YouTube says to opt out of channel permissions only if you need to complete a channel transfer.

Give your channel to someone else (change the primary owner)

Ownership changes happen through Brand Account roles, not channel permissions. YouTube says a channel that isn’t on a Brand Account can change managers but not owners.

What has to be true

• The channel is on a Brand Account, and it’s opted out of channel permissions (YouTube Studio > Settings > Permissions). YouTube says to transfer, you remove all roles in the permissions setup. Our note: you may need to invite people again afterwards.
• The new owner has been added as an Owner of the Brand Account and accepted the email invite.
• They’ve been an owner for at least 7 days. Before that, they get an error.
• Managers can’t change the primary owner.

The new owner makes themselves primary owner (computer)

1. Open the Brand Accounts section of your Google Account and select the account under Your Brand Accounts.
2. Click Manage permissions and find your name.
3. Click the down arrow next to your name, choose the primary owner option, then click Transfer.

• YouTube recommends keeping at least one other owner on the account.
• Deleting the primary owner’s Google Account also deletes the channel.
• Our note: only add people you trust as owners. An owner has full control, including who else manages the channel.

Move your channel to another of your accounts

This covers moving a channel between your own accounts. YouTube lets you move a channel and its videos between your Google Account and Brand Accounts tied to the same Google Account.

Before you start

• Your Google Account must be the channel’s primary owner.
• If the channel uses channel permissions, opt out first (YouTube Studio > Settings > Permissions) and remove everyone who has access.
• Supervised accounts can’t move channels. School accounts may be able to, depending on qualifications.

Move it

1. On YouTube, click your profile picture and switch to the account linked to the channel you want to move.
2. Go to Settings > Advanced settings, then Move channel.
3. Choose the destination account. If it already has a channel, click Replace > Delete channel.
4. Check how the channel name will appear, then click Move channel. You may need to sign in again.

• Replacing a channel permanently deletes it: its videos, comments, messages, playlists, history and verification badge.
• The moved channel loses its watch and search history, the creator demographic info you gave, and gift settings.
• YouTube suggests moving only when necessary, because a wrong move can delete the wrong channel.

Our note: double-check which account you’re signed in to before each step. Never share your password with anyone offering to “transfer” a channel.

Find the channel owner’s details

YouTube says only managers and the owner can see the names and emails of people with access: YouTube Studio on a computer > Settings > Permissions (or in the YouTube Studio app: Settings > Permissions). Managers may need the owner’s details, for example to ask them to phone-verify the channel. See verify your YouTube account.

How to know it worked

• Only the people you choose have access, each with the right role.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Someone you don’t recognize has access? See YouTube channel hacked. Applying for the verified badge needs an owner or manager: see verified badge.

Frequently asked questions