Whether you browse YouTube videos or create them, you may want to transfer all of that content from one Google Account to another at some point
You have more than one Google Account, one old and one new. You want to retire the old one and just use the new one. This means that you need to transfer a bunch of objects from one to the other. We have already covered the process of merging two different Gmail accounts. But what about all your content on Google-owned YouTube?
Maybe you subscribe to YouTube channel to watch your favorite videos. Or perhaps you post YouTube videos through your channel. Either way, you need to transfer all your YouTube subscriptions, channels, and videos from your old account to the new one.
Unfortunately, Google doesn't make it easy to transfer information from one account to another. If the goal is to transfer or rebuild your YouTube subscriptions, playlists, channels, and videos from your old account to the new one, prepare to get your hands dirty.
As of now, power users and content creators alike will need to do a lot of data migration manually. The process requires several steps and takes some effort, but it is doable.
move your subscription
The first thing you want to do is to move all your YouTube channel subscriptions from the old account to the new one. There used to be some way to automate the export and import process, but those methods no longer work.
You can do this manually if you click the Subscriptions icon and then click Manage to see a list of all your subscriptions. You can then open another browser, sign in to your new account, and go through the list, re-subscribing to each entry.
Another option is to use Google Takeout to export your subscription list as a CSV file containing links for each subscription you can open in your new account. To do this in YouTube under your old account, click your profile icon in the top right and select your data in YouTube, then click Download YouTube data under your YouTube Dashboard heading.
On the Google Takeout page, select the data you want to include. Click Include all YouTube data, then deselect everything in the list except subscriptions. Click OK, and then click Next Step. Make sure the frequency is set to Export once and then click the Create Export button.
Since you are only exporting your subscriptions, this process should take only a few seconds. Click the Download button and then save the ZIP file to your computer.
Extract the downloaded zip file. Drill down through all the folders until you find Subscriptions.csv in the Subscriptions folder. Open that file in Excel and increase the column width. The second column contains the URLs for each of your subscriptions.
Sign in to your new Google Account in your browser. Copy and paste each URL from the CSV file into your browser's address field. You can then click the Subscribe button for each channel.
move your playlist
You may want to transfer videos you saved under your old YouTube account. To do this, those videos must be saved as a playlist. Click any category on the left-hand menu, such as Library, History, Watch Later, and Liked Videos. Then click the three-dot icon next to the video you want to save to the playlist and select Save to Playlist.
Create a new playlist or use an existing playlist, then select the playlist you want to use. From the Playlists page, click the drop-down arrow to set the playlist to Unlisted or Public (not private). Click the share icon and copy the URL of your playlist.
Open a different browser and sign in to your new YouTube account. Paste the URL from the playlist into the address field. Click the Save Playlist icon, and your playlist is saved under your new account.
transfer your youtube channel
If you're a content creator with videos posted to your channel, you can transfer to a Brand Account and then transfer ownership to a new Google Account. Set it up under your old YouTube account by clicking on your profile icon and choosing Settings.
In the Account section of your Settings page, click the Add or manage your channel link, then click the Create channel button.
Type a name for your new brand channel, then check the box below the Name field and click the Create button.
Sign back into YouTube with your old Google Account. Go to Settings > Advanced Settings, then click the Move channel to brand account link.
On the next screen, confirm that the new brand account appears at the bottom of the Account screen and click on the Change button.
A pop-up window will ask you to confirm the deletion of your old account. Check the box, then click Remove channel. In the next window, click on the Move Channel option.
Sign out of YouTube and then sign back in with your old account. On the window that prompts you to choose a channel, click the Brand Account you just created.
To start the process of linking your new account to a brand new account, go to Settings > Account and click the Add or Remove Manager link.
Click the Manage Permissions button, then click the Invite New Users icon in the upper right corner. You can then enter the email address of your new Google Account in the field. Select a role from the drop-down menu and set it to Owner. Click Invite, then click Done.
Check your email with your new Google Account and check the invite message. In that message, click Accept Invitation. On the Accept Invitation page, click the Accept button.
Your next step is to make your new account the primary owner, although Google will make you wait seven days before doing so. When the seven days are up, sign in to the Brand Account page for your new Google Account. Select your account at the bottom of the page and click on the Manage this account button.
Click Manage Permissions, then click the drop-down arrow next to your new account and change the role to Primary Owner. Click Transfer > Done to complete the task.
transfer your videos
Your last step is to transfer the videos you have published through your channel from your old account to your new account. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest is to download them from your old Google Account and upload them to the new one. Unfortunately, you have to download them one by one.
From your old account, select your videos to go to YouTube Studio. Click the three-dot icon next to each video, select Download and save them to your computer.
Sign in to your new Google Account and select your videos to go to YouTube Studio. Click the Upload Videos button, then the Choose Files button and select all videos or simply drop them into the upload window. Your videos will be uploaded one at a time.
After the videos are uploaded, they're still in draft mode, which means you'll need to add some details to them before they go live. Click the Edit draft link next to each video. Review each screen to fill in any required information such as description, audience, and viewing mode (private, unlisted, or public). Click Save, and your mission is complete.