Subscribing to YouTube Channels: Mobile & Desktop Guide

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Stay up to date on your favorites by subscribing to videos

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: December 13, 2025 Tested

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Using a Phone or Tablet

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Using a Computer

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Becoming a Channel Member

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Video

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Q&A

When you subscribe to someone's YouTube channel, you'll receive notifications when new content is added. Subscribing to a creator's YouTube channel also shows your support for the channel, which can be extremely helpful to the creator. This wikiHow guide will teach you how to subscribe to a YouTube channel using the YouTube mobile app or a computer. We also go over how to join a channel's paid membership, if you'd like to support a creator monetarily.

Subscribing to a YouTube Channel

To subscribe to a channel, click or tap the Subscribe button below one of its videos or on its homepage.
To view and manage your YouTube subscriptions, click or tap the Subscriptions tab, then select All.
You will need to sign in to your Google account to subscribe to a YouTube channel.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using a Phone or Tablet

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1
Open the YouTube app on your Android, iPhone, or iPad. It's the red rectangle icon with a white triangle inside. You'll find it on the home screen, in the app list, or by searching.
- If you're not already logged in, do so now. If you're on an Android, you'll automatically be logged in with the Google account that's linked to your phone or tablet.
2
Go to the channel you want to subscribe to. You can subscribe to a channel from its home page or any of its videos.
- To search, tap the magnifying glass in the upper-right corner, enter the name of the channel or one of its videos, and then tap the search key.
- If the channel name appears, tap it now. If you searched for a video, tap the video's name.
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3
Tap the Subscribe button. This button is in a slightly different location, depending on where you tap on it:
- Tap the Subscribe button under the channel name if you're looking at it from the search page.
- Tap the Subscribe button under the channel name and description on the channel's page.
- Tap Subscribe under the video title, directly to the right of the channel's icon, if you're on the video page.
You'll see this tab at the bottom of the YouTube app. This displays a selection of videos from channels you're subscribed to.
5
Tap All to manage your subscriptions. From here, you can manage your subscriptions and notifications.
- Tap the bell icon next to a channel to view your notification options.
  - If you want to receive notifications each time the channel shares new content, select All. If you receive too many notifications, tap Personalized or None instead.
- To unsubscribe, tap Unsubscribe at the bottom.
6
Change more notification preferences. If you want to change how you receive notifications for the channels you subscribe to, it's easy:
- Tap your profile photo or initial at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner.
- Tap Notifications.
- To enable or disable YouTube channel subscription notifications entirely, toggle the "Subscriptions" slider.
- You can also tap Channel settings here to manage your notifications for each channel individually.
  - If you're on an iPhone, you'll have to change your notification settings in Settings > Apps > YouTube.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using a Computer

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1
Go to youtube.com in a web browser. If you're not already signed in, do so now.
- If you don't have a Google account, you can create one.
- If you're already signed in and want to switch accounts, click the profile photo at the top-right corner and select Switch account. Then, click another account in the list, or click Add account to sign in to a different account.
2
Search for a channel. You can check out what's trending by looking under the "Explore" header in the left panel, search for a particular channel, or find something new by searching for keywords.
- If you know the name of the YouTube Channel you want to subscribe to, type it into the search bar at the top of YouTube and press ↵ Enter/⏎ Return. To see just channels, click Filters at the top-right corner of the search results and select Channel under "Type."
- You can also subscribe to a channel from any of the channel's videos. Type the name of a video into the search bar and press ↵ Enter/⏎ Return. Then, click a video to start watching it—the channel's name will appear below the video's title.
3
Click the Subscribe button. The location of this button varies depending on where you're looking at the channel:
- From the search page, click Subscribe to the right of the channel's name.
- On the channel's page, click Subscribe under the channel's name and bio.
- From a video page, click Subscribe under the video, directly to the right of the channel name.
4
Click Subscriptions to see videos from your subscribed channels. If you don't see this tab on the left side of YouTube, click the three-line menu at the upper-left corner first. This displays a selection of videos from all of the channels you're subscribed to.
5
Click All subscriptions to view all the channels you subscribe to. You can now scroll to find the channel you just subscribed to, or click on any other channel you've decided to follow.
- By default, the channels you've subscribed to will be listed in alphabetical order. To change the sort method, click the A-Z dropdown under "All subscriptions" and choose a different option.
6
Change more notification preferences (optional). If you want to change how you receive channel notifications, it's easy:
- Click your profile photo or initial at the top-right.
- Click Settings.
- Click Notifications.
- To enable or disable YouTube channel subscription notifications entirely, toggle the "Subscriptions" switch at the top.
- To receive an email notification when your subscribed channels share new content, toggle the "Permission" switch at the bottom of the page.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Becoming a Channel Member

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1
Go to a channel you're subscribed to that has channel membership. There's no way to sort through the channels you're subbed to to view which ones have channel membership. However, if you see that a channel you follow has videos that say "Members first" or "Members only" under them, that means that channel has channel memberships.
2
Click or tap the Join button. You can find this button on the channel's page, or on any of the channel's video pages.
3
Click or tap Join again. The monthly price to join that channel's membership will be listed on this page. If there are multiple tiers you can join at, they will be listed on the page. Make sure to click or tap Join under the specific tier you want.
4
Complete the payment. You'll be prompted to input your payment information if YouTube doesn't already have this information saved. If you're on a mobile device, you'll be prompted to use whatever payment method you have attached to your app store (either the App Store on iPhone and iPad or the Google Play Store on Android).
- Channel memberships are a way to support your favorite creators. While the perks vary depending on what channel you're joining, channel members usually get exclusive videos and/or first looks at videos.^{[1]
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Community Q&A

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Question

How do I subscribe to a YouTube fan channel?

Community Answer

Click the red "Subscribe button" on their channel's page. It's no different than subscribing to any other channel.

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Question

I just opened a new channel on YouTube that my viewers can't subscribe to. Why does it ask to sign in?

Community Answer

You need to have a YouTube account to be able to subscribe to channels. You can't do anything on YouTube without an account other than watching non-private videos.

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Question

How do I publicly subscribe to a YouTube channel?

Community Answer

Click your channel icon, click "Settings", go to the section "Privacy", and on the setting for subscription visibility, toggle the "On" option. Then, any channel you subscribe to will publicly show in the "Channels" section on your profile.

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