How to delete your YouTube channel and permanently erase its content, or temporarily hide it

• You can permanently delete your YouTube channel through the account settings menu.
• This menu also lets you hide your YouTube channel, which makes it private to everyone but you.
• Once your YouTube channel is deleted it can't be recovered, but you can always make a private channel public again.

YouTube has been around for almost two decades now. And if you've been around since the start, your channel might be host to some embarrassing old videos that you don't want anyone to see.

Whatever the reason, it doesn't take much work to delete a YouTube channel. Deleting your YouTube channel means deleting your videos, comments, playlists, and more. And once you've deleted your account, all that data is gone forever — there's no recovering it.

If you prefer a less permanent solution, you can also hide your channel, which will make everything on the account private to everyone but you. You can make a private channel public again whenever you want, but your comments and replies will be permanently deleted.

Here's how to delete your YouTube channel or temporarily hide it.

How to delete or hide your YouTube channel

The steps to delete or hide your YouTube channel are essentially the same.

1. Open YouTube in a web browser and log into the account that you want to delete.

2. Scroll down on the left side of the homepage and click on Settings.

3. On the Account tab of the Settings menu, click the View advanced settings option in the Your channel section.

4. Click the Delete channel link. You might have to enter your password.

5. On the following page, you'll be given two options: I want to hide my content and I want to permanently delete my content. Choose whichever option you want.

6. A drop-down will appear telling you what will be permanently deleted or hidden. To continue, you need to check off all the boxes and then click the blue Delete My Content or Hide My Content button.

7. A pop-up will appear asking to confirm that you want your content hidden or deleted. You might also be asked to enter your email address.

8. Click the Delete My Content or Hide My Content button again.

Once you click that final button, your channel will be deleted. Channels with a lot of content might take longer to delete, but it should only take a few moments.

Remember that a deleted account is gone forever. But if your channel is hidden, you can always make it public again by filling out a form.