How to Add Managers to a YouTube Channel

If you want someone to help run your channel, you don’t need to share your password. To add a manager to a YouTube channel, open YouTube Studio, go to Settings → Permissions, click Invite, enter the person’s email and pick a role. They accept the email invite, and they can then work on the channel from their own Google Account.

That is the short version. The longer version matters because YouTube has two access systems: the newer channel permissions in YouTube Studio and the older Brand Account roles. Picking the wrong one is the reason most people get stuck, especially when they later try to transfer ownership.

Channel Permissions vs Brand Account Managers

For years, the only way to share a channel was to put it on a Brand Account (a Google account made for a business or brand that several people can manage). You then added people as owners or managers of that Brand Account. Those roles are broad. A Brand Account manager can do almost everything on the channel.

YouTube Studio now has its own system called channel permissions. It lets you give each person a specific role, from full Manager down to read-only Viewer (limited). YouTube’s help pages recommend channel permissions for sharing access and call Brand Account roles “not recommended”.

Here is how the two compare in practice:

• Channel permissions are set in YouTube Studio. They have seven roles, so you can match access to the job. They work in YouTube and YouTube Studio on computer and mobile, but not through the YouTube API.
• Brand Account roles are set in your Google Account at myaccount.google.com/brandaccounts. The roles are Primary owner, Owner, Manager and Communications manager (which can’t use YouTube at all). These roles are also how you hand over ownership.

My rule of thumb is simple. Use channel permissions for everyday team access. Use the Brand Account only when you need to change who owns the channel, or when a tool you rely on needs API access.

YouTube Channel Roles Explained

Before you invite anyone, decide what they actually need to do. Here are the channel permission roles in plain words.

Which Role Should Each Person Get?

I always start from the lowest role that lets someone do their job. You can raise it later in a few clicks. Taking back access after a mistake is much harder.

• Video editor or uploader: Editor (limited). They can upload, write titles and descriptions, and set thumbnails without seeing your earnings.
• Agency running the whole channel: Editor, or Manager only if they must add their own team members.
• Translator or captioning service: Subtitle editor.
• SEO consultant doing an audit: Viewer (limited). They can read analytics and video settings without changing anything.
• Business partner or accountant: Viewer, because they may need revenue data.

One exception: if a team member wants likeness detection to watch for AI videos of their own face, YouTube needs them to be an Owner or Manager to set it up.

In my experience, most people hand out Manager far too quickly. A Manager can delete your videos and invite other people. For a freelancer, that is rarely needed.

How to Add a Manager to a YouTube Channel

You must be the channel Owner or a Manager to invite people. The person you invite needs a Google Account. It can be a Gmail address or another email that is already linked to a Google Account.

On a Computer

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio at studio.youtube.com with the account that owns the channel. If you manage more than one channel, check the channel name at the top right first.
2. Click Settings in the bottom-left menu.
3. Choose Permissions in the window that opens. You will see everyone who already has access.
4. Click Invite.
5. Enter the person’s email address.
6. Open the Access menu and pick a role, such as Editor (limited) or Manager.
7. Confirm the invite, then click Save at the bottom of the Settings window. YouTube may ask you to confirm your identity first.

In the YouTube Studio App

1. Open the YouTube Studio app and tap your profile picture.
2. Tap Settings, then Permissions.
3. Tap Invite and enter the email address.
4. Select a role.
5. Tap Send invitation, then Send.

Invites expire after 30 days. If the person hasn’t accepted by then, you need to send a new one.

Everyone on the team can see the Permissions list, but only the Owner and Managers can see the names and email addresses in it.

If Your Channel Is on a Brand Account

If your channel sits on a Brand Account that still uses the old roles, YouTube asks you to move to channel permissions first. Only the Brand Account’s primary owner sees this option.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio as the primary owner.
2. Go to Settings → Permissions and choose the option to move permissions.
3. YouTube copies your existing Brand Account users into the list. Set a role for each one and send the invites.
4. Each person accepts the email invite before their new access starts.

Check every person’s role during this step. It is the perfect moment to remove people who left the team years ago.

How the Invited Person Accepts

The new team member gets an email invitation from YouTube. They open it and click the accept button. They must be signed in to the Google Account that matches the email you invited.

Once accepted, they can reach the channel from their own account:

1. Sign in to YouTube or YouTube Studio with their own Google Account.
2. Click the profile picture, then Switch account.
3. Choose the channel they were invited to.

Public actions, like a comment or a post, show as the channel. Private actions, like watch history and purchases, stay on the person’s own account. Invited users also can’t use YouTube Music or the YouTube Kids app as the channel.

How to Change or Remove Access

People change jobs, freelancers finish projects and agencies get replaced. I review the permissions list every time someone leaves, and at least every few months even when nobody has.

Change Someone’s Role

1. Go to Settings → Permissions in YouTube Studio.
2. Find the person in the list.
3. Open the menu next to their current role and pick a new one.
4. Click Save.

Remove Someone

1. Go to Settings → Permissions.
2. Find the person and click the remove (trash) icon next to their name. In the app, tap the person and then Remove.
3. Click Save.

Their access ends straight away. If you shared a password with anyone in the past, change it now too, because removing a user does not lock out someone who knows your login.

Removing Brand Account Managers

If someone was added the old way, remove them from the Brand Account as well. Go to myaccount.google.com/brandaccounts, select the account, click Manage permissions, change or remove the person, and click Done. Google only lets you remove owners or managers after you have been an owner for at least 7 days.

How to Transfer Ownership of a YouTube Channel

This is the part that confuses most people. In channel permissions, the Owner role can’t be transferred. If you want someone else to own the channel, you do it through the Brand Account and its primary owner role.

Step 1: Make Sure the Channel Is on a Brand Account

Many older channels sit on a personal Google Account. Those can’t be handed over directly. You first move the channel to a Brand Account:

1. On YouTube, click your profile picture, then Settings, then Advanced settings.
2. Under Move channel, choose to move it to a Brand Account and pick or create one.
3. Read the warnings carefully, then confirm. If the target account already has a channel, that channel and its videos get deleted.

YouTube may ask you to opt out of channel permissions and remove the users added there before it lets you move a channel. You can invite them again afterwards.

Step 2: Add the New Owner and Wait

1. Go to myaccount.google.com/brandaccounts and select the channel’s Brand Account.
2. Click Manage permissions, then the option to invite new users.
3. Enter the new owner’s email, choose Owner, and click Invite.
4. The new owner accepts the email invite.

Now the 7-day rule applies. The new person must have been an owner or manager for at least 7 days before they can become primary owner.

Step 3: Make Them Primary Owner

1. After 7 days, go back to Manage permissions.
2. Open the menu next to the new owner’s name and select Primary owner.
3. Click Transfer to confirm.

You become a regular owner. You can then remove yourself if you are leaving. A primary owner can’t leave until someone else holds that role.

If you can’t add people or change the primary owner, YouTube says you may need to opt out of channel permissions in YouTube Studio under Settings → Permissions. You can opt back in later, but you will need to send the invites again.

I’d also keep a second trusted owner on any business channel. Google warns that deleting the primary owner’s Google Account also deletes the linked channel, so a single-owner channel is a risk.

Common Problems and How to Fix Them

The Invite Never Arrived

Ask the person to check spam and promotions folders, and to search for an email from YouTube. Then check the email address in your Permissions list for typos. If it still hasn’t arrived, remove the pending invite and send a new one.

“This Email Isn’t Linked to a Google Account”

The person needs a Google Account for that email. They can create one with their work address without making a Gmail inbox. Once it exists, send the invite again.

They Accepted, but Can’t See the Channel

Most often, they accepted while signed in to a different Google Account, such as a personal Gmail instead of their work account. Ask them to sign out, sign in with the invited email and use Switch account. If the invite was accepted on the wrong account, remove it and invite again.

The Invite Expired

Invites last 30 days. Remove the old one and send a fresh invite.

The Invite Button or Permissions Page Is Missing

Only Owners and Managers can invite people. If you are an Editor, ask the Owner to do it. On a Brand Account channel that hasn’t moved to channel permissions yet, only the primary owner can start that move.

A Scheduling or Analytics Tool Can’t Find the Channel

This one catches many agencies. People added through channel permissions can’t use the channel through the YouTube API, so third-party tools often can’t see it when they connect with their own login. The usual fix is to connect the tool with the owner’s account, or to add that person as a Brand Account manager instead. Only do the second if you trust them with broad access.

“You Must Be an Owner for 7 Days”

This error shows on the Brand Account side when you try to remove people or transfer primary ownership too early. There is no way around it. Wait until the 7 days have passed and try again.

Security Tips for Channel Access

• Never share your password. Shared logins can’t be tracked, and you can’t remove one person without locking out everyone.
• Give the least access needed. Use the limited roles when someone doesn’t need to see earnings.
• Keep Manager for very few people. Managers can add others, so access can spread without you noticing.
• Turn on 2-Step Verification for the owner account and ask your team to do the same.
• Review the list often. Remove people the day a project ends, not months later.
• Keep two owners on the Brand Account so the channel never depends on one person.

The same habits apply across Google tools. If you are setting up a new team member, you will probably also want to give them access to Google Analytics 4, add them as a user in Search Console and add them as a manager on your Google Business Profile. Each tool has its own roles, so check them one by one.

For the official role list, see Google’s help page on channel permissions in YouTube Studio. For ownership changes, the Brand Account owners and managers page explains the primary owner rules.

What Has Changed Recently

The invite flow and the seven roles have stayed the same since early 2025. What has changed is what some of those roles can reach.

• Effect Maker for Shorts (August 2025): YouTube added a desktop tool for building AR effects for Shorts. YouTube’s role list now says Editors can publish these effects, so an Editor can put new effects live under your channel’s name.
• Likeness detection in a new Content detection tab (October 2025): YouTube Studio got a Content detection tab where creators can find AI-made videos that use their face and ask for removal. It started with YouTube Partner Program channels, with all monetized channels due to have it by January 2026. Managers, Editors and Editors (limited) can review matches there, so giving these roles now also means trusting someone with removal requests.
• Likeness detection for more creators (May 2026): Access widened to eligible creators aged 18 and over. Setup still needs an Owner or Manager and an ID check with a selfie video, so each person should verify with their own Google Account rather than a shared login.
• Brand Account roles (no change): YouTube still calls them “not recommended” for team access. They are still the route for ownership changes, with the same 7-day wait for primary owner.

Google’s likeness detection help page lists the current requirements and which roles can use it.

Conclusion

To add a manager to a YouTube channel, use Settings → Permissions in YouTube Studio and pick the smallest role that fits the job. Keep the Brand Account for one thing: moving ownership with the primary owner role and its 7-day wait.

Your next step is a quick audit. Open your Permissions list today, remove anyone who no longer needs access, and switch freelancers to a limited role.