Subscribe to channels

YouTube Gaming subscriptions are now shared with YouTube as of July 2018. Learn more here.

You can subscribe to channels you like to see more content from those channels. You can find a Subscribe button under any YouTube video or on a channel's page. Once you subscribe to a channel, any new videos it publishes will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

You may also start getting notifications when a channel you subscribe to publishes new content. By default, we'll only send you the highlights from the channel. Learn how to manage your notifications.

Getting started | How to subscribe to a YouTube channel and why

Subscribe to a channel

  1. Open the YouTube app or go to m.youtube.com.
  2. Sign in to YouTube.
  3. If you're on the Home tab:
    • Below the video whose channel you want to subscribe to, tap the channel icon.
    • Tap Subscribe.
  4. If you're watching a video whose channel you want to subscribe to:
    • Below the video, tap Subscribe.

Once you subscribe to a channel, you'll see a list of recommended channels on your screen. These are based on related channels that you're not already subscribed to. You can always view a channel's content before subscribing.

When you'll get notifications

When you subscribe to a channel we'll automatically only send you notifications about the highlights from that channel. You can opt to get a notification every time the channel publishes content by changing your notification settings.

Note that if you unsubscribe and then re-subscribe to a channel, your notification settings will be reset.

Note: You won't get notifications if a channel's audience is set as made for kids.

Unsubscribe to a channel

  1. Sign in to YouTube.
  2. Go to a video whose channel you want to unsubscribe to.
  3. Under the video player, tap Subscribed and then  Unsubscribe.
  4. At the bottom of the screen, you'll get a notification confirming you've unsubscribed.

Manage your subscriptions

Find channels to subscribe to

YouTube surfaces videos and channels we think you'll like on the Home tab  and after you watch a video. We recommend these videos based on what you've watched and what is trending.

If you don't like what we recommend, you can let us know that you're not interested.

  • Browse by category: If you want to see channels about a particular subject, go to Browse channels to see popular channels across different categories.
  • Do a search: Try searching your interests on YouTube. You can then use a filter on your search results to show channels relevant to what you searched.

See your subscriptions

When you subscribe to a channel, you'll see new videos in your Subscriptions tab . The Home tab  also shows videos from your subscriptions, along with recommendations for channels or videos that you may be interested in.

To get to your Subscriptions, follow these instructions:

  1. Open the YouTube app.
  2. Sign in to YouTube.
  3. Tap the Subscriptions tab .

You can see a list of your channels by tapping All, and filter your results using the drop-down arrow at the top.

When a channel you subscribe to has new content, you'll see a dot next to the channel name. If a channel you subscribe to is live streaming content, you'll see the word "Live" next to the channel name.

Troubleshoot a problem with your subscriptions

Subscription limits

If you see an error message that says "Too many subscriptions," you've reached your subscription limit. You can only subscribe to 75 channels per day.

In general, you can subscribe to a maximum of 2,000 channels. However, your subscription limit grows as your YouTube channel does — it's tied to the number of subscribers your channel has or how long your account has existed, so your exact limits may change over time.

We recommend capping your account to 5,000 channel subscriptions to make sure the subscriptions feed and channel list give the best experience.

Third-party extensions subscribing you to channels without your permission

If you see notifications for videos and channels that you didn't subscribe to, or content that you unsubscribed from, it might be due to a browser extension subscribing you without your permission. Learn more about how to control browser extensions.

Difference between Notifications and Subscriptions Feed

Subscriptions feed, available on both mobile and a computer, will show all recently uploaded videos from your subscriptions.

Notifications tell you when there are new videos and updates from your subscriptions. We'll send emails, notifications on mobile, or inbox notifications on your computer. When you subscribe to a channel, you'll automatically get personalized notifications with highlights of activity.

To get all notifications from a subscribed channel, tap the Notification bell . The bell will then change to a ringing bell to indicate that you've selected all notifications.

You won't get notifications if a channel's audience is set as made for kids. The notification bell will also be set to no notifications . You won't be able to change this setting.

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