Change your YouTube channel name & profile picture

When you create a channel on YouTube, you can choose a channel name and profile picture for YouTube that's different from your Google Account. Your YouTube channel name and picture will be your public identity on YouTube and all publicly attributable actions will display your YouTube channel name and profile picture, for example, in comments and on your channel page.

Your YouTube channel name and profile picture are not the same as your Google Account name and picture. All of your YouTube channel Name activity will still be stored with your Google Account and used in accordance with our privacy policy. Your Google Account is always your primary account; the YouTube name is only your public persona on YouTube.

How to Update Your YouTube Channel Name & Profile Picture (Without Updating Google Account Info)

Keep in mind…

  • Our Community Guidelines apply to all types of content on YouTube, including your channel name. If you come across a channel name that you believe violates YouTube's policies, you can report it by following these steps.
  • If you've translated your channel name with channel translations, you'll need to update the translations with your new name.
  • If you change your YouTube channel name and picture, it will only be visible on YouTube. You can make changes to your Google account name and picture here (with no changes made to your YouTube channel name).

Change your channel name

Warning: Changing your name will remove your verification badge. Learn more.

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Customization and then Basic info.
  3. Click EditEdit to update your channel name.
  4. Enter your new channel name.
  5. Click Publish. It may take a few days for the new name to update and display across YouTube.

Change your profile picture

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
  2. From the left menu, select Customization and then Branding.
  3. Click Upload and select an image. Adjust the size of your image, then click DONE.
  4. Click PUBLISH. It may take a few minutes for your profile picture to update across YouTube.

Profile picture guidelines

Your profile picture must follow our Community Guidelines and meet the following criteria:

  • JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG file (no animated GIFs)
  • Minimum size: 98 X 98 px
  • Maximum file size: 4MB

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