YouTube has become the world‘s most popular online video platform, with over 2 billion monthly active users. As such a central place for video content, most internet users likely have a YouTube account. However, many people don‘t realize the extent to which you can customize your YouTube experience through the platform‘s settings.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll walk through all the key YouTube account settings areas and how to update them to your preferences. Optimizing these settings can lead to a more personalized, useful YouTube platform for your viewing and video uploads.
An Introduction to YouTube and Its Settings
For those less familiar, YouTube is a video-sharing website and app where users can view, upload, share, rate, and comment on videos. Owned by Google, YouTube was created in 2005 by former Paypal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
YouTube quickly became the internet‘s most popular video source. Today, over 500 hours of new video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute. The platform has launched the careers of many influencers and creators. YouTube also contains videos on every topic imaginable, from comedy sketches to academic lectures to music videos.
With such a massive amount of video content, YouTube allow users extensive settings customization. The platform wants to enable you to filter and personalize videos shown based on your interests and priorities.
Let‘s explore the main YouTube account settings areas and controls available.
Account Settings
Your overall account settings influence how you appear on YouTube and what level of features you can access.
Within your account settings, you can:
- Upgrade to a Brand Account for business use
- Change your Channel Status to unlock more features like monetization
- Download your Channel and User ID numbers
- Manage Memberships like YouTube Premium
For example, upgrading your Channel Status to "Unlock More Features" will let you live stream, upload longer videos, add end cards/info cards, and turn on monetization. This helps if you want to earn money from your videos through ads.
According to YouTube, over 2 million creators participate in their Partner Program for monetization. Updating your account status settings can allow you to join this group.
Notification Settings
YouTube‘s notifications settings let you manage when and how you‘re alerted to YouTube activity.
Notification options include:
- Push notifications to phone/computer for video uploads, comments, etc.
- Email updates when new videos are posted by your subscribed channels
- General YouTube announcements and news
- Reminders around paid memberships expiring
For instance, if you want an email alert every time your favorite creator posts a new video, you can enable email notifications for channel subscriptions. Over 87% of YouTube viewers have subscribed to a channel.
Managing notifications prevents you from being overloaded with alerts while still receiving relevant YouTube updates.
Playback and Performance Settings
YouTube‘s playback and performance settings focus specifically on video streaming quality.
Within this section you can:
- Set default video quality level, from 144p to 4K
- Adjust quality settings for Wi-Fi versus mobile data
- Enable Stats for Nerds metrics as videos play
For example, setting your default streaming quality to 1080p HD will make videos crisper and clearer compared to lower resolutions. Just beware of increased data usage on mobile.
Optimizing playback settings helps ensure you consistently get the best video performance possible across devices.
Privacy Settings
Maintaining privacy is crucial on a platform with over 2 billion users. YouTube‘s privacy settings control how visible your activity is.
You can update privacy configurations to:
- Keep subscriptions list private
- Make playlists unlisted from other users
- Remove personalized Google ads based on your info
- Limit ad tracking for more general promotions
Enabling private subscriptions, for instance, prevents other YouTube viewers from seeing which channels you follow. This adds a layer of separation between your interests and the public eye.
Connected Apps Settings
A more advanced YouTube feature is its connected apps settings. Here, external apps partner with YouTube to provide viewers rewards for watching certain live streams.
For example, by watching eligible Overwatch League broadcasts, you can earn in-game loot boxes and currency. Other integrated apps include Fortnite, Call of Duty, EA Sports, and more.
Connecting these apps gives you opportunities to be rewarded for videos you‘d likely watch anyway as a fan. The majority of connected apps center around popular video game live streams.
Billing and Payment Settings
Naturally, with paid premium options like YouTube Music and YouTube TV, you can modify billing details and payment methods on YouTube as well.
In your payment settings you can:
- Add/update credit card info
- View membership charges
- Change to yearly vs monthly billing cycles
- Manage Google Play purchases on Android
Updating card and payment information ensures you avoid losing access due to expired or invalid payment methods. And switching between monthly and annual memberships can potentially save money long-term.
Advanced Settings
Finally, diving into YouTube‘s advanced settings gives expanded preferences like rating restrictions, subtitles, viewer analytics reports, and channel settings.
From YouTube‘s advanced section you have the ability to:
- Hide suggestive comments on videos
- Back up your videos
- Allow clipping/sharing of your content
- Disable interest-based/personalized ads
Here video creators can find specialized options for managing permissions around their content. For example, permitting video clipping gives viewers the chance to take short 5-60 second clips from your videos to promote them. The advanced settings help round out full customization capability.
- Account settings enable broader service upgrades like monetization
- Notification configurations minimize disruptions while providing desired alerts
- Playback controls boost streaming quality when possible
- Privacy protections limit visibility into viewing habits
- Connected apps integrate services like gaming platforms that offer viewing rewards
- Billing details ensure continual access to any paid memberships activated
- Advanced configurations provide creators more control around video permissions
Optimizing these YouTube settings to your preferences facilitates a better overall user experience. Take the time to explore the options and build a customized platform matching your usage patterns and interests!
Can I change YouTube settings on mobile too?
Yes! The YouTube mobile app for both iOS and Android contains all the same settings controls as the desktop version. You can easily update configurations on the go.
What‘s the most important setting area I should update?
It depends on your use patterns, but managing notifications can help prevent tons of bothersome alerts while still providing desired updates. Playback performance controls also directly influence streaming quality.
If I have a Brand Account, does that limit settings access?
No – Brand Accounts have access to all the same settings modifications covered above. The main difference is Brand Accounts enable business-focused features like multiple user access and advanced analytics.
Is it easy to revert my changes if I want to undo YouTube settings?
Absolutely. YouTube makes it quite easy to toggle any preferences on or off. And features like personalized ads can be completely redone simply by changing your Google Ad Settings profile. No need to worry about getting stuck with settings issues!
