Can family recover a YouTube channel after death?

Is this your situation?

Do this first

Which situation is yours?

• You have the deceased's device signed in already.
• You know their recovery email or phone.
• You have no recovery info at all.
• The account was recently deleted, not merely inaccessible.
• The channel is a Brand Account with other managers.
• The account was deleted a while ago, and recovery may not be possible.
• You have tried recovery and received a message saying it could not verify the account.

How YouTube handles this

• If you can't sign in to the Google Account, follow the steps to recover the Google Account or Gmail.
• During recovery, you will be asked some questions to confirm it's your account.
• There is no limit to the number of times a person can attempt to recover their Google Account.
• A recently deleted Google Account can be recovered by following the account recovery steps.
• If you still cannot recover the account, you can create a new Google Account instead.

Which recovery path is yours?

1. Can you sign in to the Google Account already? If a user can still sign in to their Google Account, they should update their password and secure their Google Account.
2. Do you have a recovery phone or email for the account? During Google Account recovery, users will be asked some questions to confirm it's their account.
3. Was the account recently deleted rather than merely locked? A recently deleted Google Account can be recovered by following the account recovery steps.
4. Does recovery fail with no recovery info available? If you still cannot recover your Google Account, you can create a new Google Account instead.
5. Did the account recovery page say it couldn't verify this account belongs to you? Users can retry account recovery after receiving a message saying Google couldn't verify this account belongs to them.

What not to do

• Entering passwords on a non-Google site Only enter your password or verification codes at accounts.google.com.Why it happens: A fake sign-in page can look convincing when you want to get back in.
• Trusting a third party offering account help Google does not work with any third-party service that claims to provide account or password support.Why it happens: An offer of outside help can seem reasonable during a loss.
• Calling Google for phone sign-in support Google does not provide phone support for signing into an account.Why it happens: A phone line may seem likely to exist, as with other services.
• Giving out passwords or codes to anyone Users should not give out their passwords or verification codes to anyone.Why it happens: Someone claiming to help with recovery may ask for a code.

What to have ready

• Recovery email address An email that has been added to the account.
• Recovery phone number A number belonging only to the account owner.
• Full name on the account Needed to find a forgotten username.
• Last remembered password The most recent password recalled, or an earlier one.
• Device normally used to sign in Use a computer, phone, or tablet signed in before.
• Usual browser Use the browser usually used for sign-in.
• Usual location Attempt recovery from home or work if possible.
• Access to a linked inbox Check for a verification code sent during recovery.
• Username recovery option Recovering the username confirms the right account is being used.

Stop this happening again

Quick reference

Keeping track of who has access