YouTube does not miss the opportunity and, after being aware of the importance of creating a strong community, today the world’s largest video platform brings us a new feature: YouTube Handles.
What are YouTube Handles?
YouTube Handles are the new unique usernames that can be found within YouTube. They work independently from the channel name and start with “@”.
With this new feature, the platform wants to invite YouTube members to be a more united online community, facilitating communication and interaction between them.
These nicknames will be shown on the different YouTube pages. Your new identifier can be used to search for your channel in the YouTube search engine and will be displayed on your channel’s home page.
Also, the posts you make in the community tab and comments on videos will appear under this recent username, making it easier for members to mention each other. You can even tag other creators in your video titles.
In addition, it should be noted that they will also appear in the YouTube Shorts feed, so that creators of short videos will also have this type of identification.
With all this, YouTube intends to reinforce the unique presence of each user within its platform, as they will be exclusive to each person and there will be no two alike. This will make it easier for followers to find their favorite creators, helping them to confirm that they are going to the correct channel.
Handles will appear on all YouTube pages
All existing channels will have a handle because, even if it is just to comment on a video, YouTube will ask you to create an account and therefore you will have to choose a name to identify yourself.
When will I get my YouTube handle?
As a major update, giving simultaneous access to all YouTube users could overwhelm the platform. For this reason, the feature is being implemented gradually, so that in the coming weeks all channels will be able to set up their YouTube new name.
To find out if you can already create your new YouTube identifier, just go to the handles section of YouTube (youtube.com/handle).
YouTube will gradually allow access to handles
When this feature is available to you, YouTube will notify you both by email and on your YouTube Studio.
For the criteria that YouTube will use in relation to when you will be able to select your alias, what the platform explains is that “it depends on a number of factors, such as the overall presence on YouTube, the number of subscribers and whether the channel is active or inactive“.
Please note that this notification will arrive before November 14th. If you have not selected your username before this date, the platform will automatically assign you one based on your channel name. Still, don’t worry; you will be able to change your YouTube handle whenever you want.
Also, for those channels that had a custom URL, YouTube will automatically assign the name you chose at the time. In addition, whether you have a custom URL or not, your username will become the URL of your channel. For example, in our case: https://youtube.com/@republic.network
Choose or change your YouTube handle
Once the functionality has been activated in your account, you will need to follow these steps to select your YouTube username.
- Go to youtube.com/handle
- Click on “Choose username” or “Change username”
- When you find an available alias, click on “Confirm selection”
Requirements for choosing a YouTube handle
So that you can start thinking about what your name will be on YouTube, we provide you with the requirements that your identifier must meet to be accepted by the platform:
- Have between 0 and 30 characters
- Composed of letters and numbers (may include dashes and periods)
- Cannot resemble a URL or phone number
- Not be in use by another person
- Follow the YouTube Community Guidelines
If by the time you are able to select your username it is already in use by another profile, we make the same recommendation as YouTube: be creative! Take advantage of numbers, dashes and periods to create an original alias that no one else has selected before.
Want to know more about all this great change inside YouTube? Stay close to our social networks, there you will find all the developments!
