Recover or delete an old account, YouTube channel, or YT video

Question

Hello and welcome to the Google Account help community.
 
First of all:
Here in the user community only users like you and me answer. No Google employees - and no YouTube employees. The community is intended to be a "user-helps-user" community. Product Experts are also not Google employees, but users.
 
Regarding the problem in the title of this guide
 
Unfortunately, neither Google accounts, YouTube channels, or videos are recovered or removed (or videos are made private) on demand in the public forum , nor is there support for the personal/free Google account. Support for YouTube exists only for partners in the partner program (which then of course requires access to a corresponding partner account. No access -> No support).
 
This therefore means:
Without access to the Google account, you also can't recover, delete/hide a Youtube channel, videos, or set old videos to private.
 
We can understand that such data/videos are important to you, or on the other hand maybe even embarrassing. However, you also have to understand that you - and you alone - are responsible for keeping your credentials and recovery options up to date. Google would possibly even be liable to prosecution under legal data protection regulations if they were to make such data easily accessible without verification, or if they were to delete it.
 
One of the most common arguments and misunderstandings is that you could identify yourself by recognizable faces/persons in videos, or with an ID (ID card, passport, driver's license, etc.) - and thus "prove" to be the legitimate owner/creator of the account...
 
This is unfortunately not true, because pictures and videos have no probative value. Videos could also have been uploaded by other people from your circle of friends, acquaintances and relatives - and you were not able to store identification documents when creating the accounts/channels - and Google is not allowed to store such documents permanently (Not even for age verifications).
 
Possible solutions
 
Don&acute;t know the Email? (Password, Username...)
First try this "Troubleshooter":
https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/2402620
 
Or try to subscribe to the old channel or post a comment on one of the publicly available videos. Usually a notification email should be sent about such actions. This should then arrive somewhere in one of your inboxes.
 
Otherwise try an account recovery:
If you last logged in before 2011, read here:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/165556
Otherwise read this blog first:
https://gmailaccountrecovery.blogspot.com/
And then try these steps:
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439
 
Also note that some verifications might be possible only after 7 days (168 hours - and not a minute less). The delay happens for security reasons - and can't be worked around:
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/9412469
 
If all this does not work - and you absolutely want to have certain content removed:
(Not "recover". This is then no longer an option)
 
You can try to have a YouTube channel, or video deleted with a correctly and completely filled out privacy complaint:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801895
 
Here is a general form regarding removal of data from Google services:
https://support.google.com/legal/troubleshooter/1114905
 
Regarding deletion of a channel because of a privacy complaint, please also read the first paragraph here:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2802168
 
The last link specifically also because if channels and videos are removed accordingly, current and newly created accounts/channels could also be affected. So in fact all accounts and channels could be removed/disabled which can be assigned to you as a person.
 
Thanks for reading
Didi

Recover or delete an old account, YouTube channel, or YT video

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