YouTube is rolling out handles like most social media platforms as announced in a recent blog post. These handles will uniquely identify a brand/channel or your youtube channel. This will be a new way for people to easily find and engage with content creators. Every channel will have a unique handle, making it easier for fans, subscribers, and followers to discover content and interact with creators they love.
What is a YouTube handle?
A YouTube handle is a new way for people to find you and connect with you. Unlike channel names, handles are unique to each creator, making it easier for you to establish a distinct presence on YouTube.
Your new handle will become a part of your channel URL. In most cases, your personalized URL will become your handle. You can use your handle to direct people to your channel when they’re not on YouTube.
For example, if your handle is @afroboytechs, your channel URL will be https://youtube.com/@afroboytechs
Also Read: How to Reset YouTube Recommendations
Availability
Youtube announced that it would notify creators when they can choose a handle for their channel. So I guess the earlier you choose your handle, the better. You can head over to https://www.youtube.com/handle to stay updated; You need to have signed in to that particular channel to see something like this;
In most cases, if a channel already has a personalized URL, that will automatically become their default handle, or you can opt to change the handle for their channel as soon as the notification in YouTube Studio comes through.
The rollout may be determined by subscriber count, and whether the channel is active or inactive.
We want to ensure creators can craft an identity as unique as their content while giving viewers the confidence that they are interacting with their favorite creators. You can read more about handles and commonly asked questions here.
YouTube
Youtube also mentions, if a channel already has a personalized URL, there’s no need to update links: they’ll automatically be redirected to the new, handle-based URL to create a better, more unified presence.
Conclusion
Handles will appear on all channel pages and Shorts, so they’ll be instantly and consistently recognizable. I believe it’ll soon be simpler and faster to mention each other in comments, community posts, video descriptions, and more. Let’s watch the space for this rollout.
