Channel memberships on the main YouTube site and app allow you to purchase public badges, emoji and access to creator perks offered by the channel.
Memberships may be priced differently depending on your country and the platform that you use.
Join, change levels or cancel a membership
Become a channel member
- Visit youtube.com or open the YouTube app.
- Go to the channel of, or a video uploaded by, the creator that you'd like to support and see if they've enabled memberships on their channel.
- Click or tap Join.
- Follow the prompts to enter your payment information.
- Click or tap Buy.
You'll see a welcome announcement once your transaction is complete.
Change your membership level
To upgrade
- Go to the channel homepage of the membership that you want to change and tap See perks.
- Select the level that you want to join
Change level.
- Select Upgrade.
- You'll immediately get access to the higher level.
- Pricing note: You'll only be charged the difference in price in levels, at an adjusted price. For example, if you upgrade halfway through your billing month, you'll be charged [|Original Price - New Price|] x [50%].
- Example: If you're paying £4.99 and you're changing to £9.99 with half a month left until your next payment, you'll be charged (£9.99 - £4.99) X (0.5) = £2.50.
To downgrade
- Go to the channel homepage of the membership that you want to change and tap See perks.
- Select the level that you want to join
Change level.
Billing and access details for downgrades
- You'll get access to your original level until your next payment date.
- You'll be charged the new lower price at your next billing date.
- You'll retain any accumulated loyalty reflected in your badge if offered by the creator.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Tap your profile picture.
- Select 'Purchases and memberships'.
- Select the membership that you want to cancel.
- Tap DEACTIVATE.
- Tap END MEMBERSHIP.
If you're having trouble cancelling your membership, learn more here.
Viewers must opt in to be eligible for gift memberships. Once you've opted in to allow gifts on a channel, you're eligible to get gift memberships on any current or future gifts given on that channel.
To opt in for gift memberships, you must be signed in with a YouTube channel that isn't a Brand Account. Check if you're on a Brand Account. Channel members aren't currently eligible to get gift memberships.
To opt in for gift memberships:
- Go to an eligible channel's live stream or Premiere.
- Within the live chat, when there's a gift announcement, tap or click ALLOW GIFTS, which opens on the gift announcement.
- Confirm that you'd like to opt in by turning on the 'Allow gifts on this channel' switch.
To opt out of allowing gifts from a channel, go to your gift settings in 'My activity'.
Getting a gift membership:
When a channel member buys gift memberships, it's announced in the live chat. If you've been selected to get a one-month membership, a notification will surface in the live chat and we'll send you an email notification.
Gift memberships are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for cash value. All gift memberships give up to one month of access to channel membership perks before they expire.
To view your membership benefits and access perks:
- Click or tap the 'Memberships' tab on the channel that you have become a member of, OR
- Click or tap SEE PERKS on any video page of that channel.
Payment and billing information
Billing information
New and existing members
When you have an active paid membership, you'll automatically be charged at the start of each monthly billing cycle.
Cancelled memberships
When you cancel a paid channel membership, you will not be charged again unless you reactivate it. You'll continue to receive membership perks until the end of that billing period.
Reactivated memberships
You can reactivate your membership at any time. If you reactivate during the same billing cycle in which you cancelled it, you will not be charged until that current billing cycle ends.
Update your payment info
How paused channel memberships impact your payments
'Paused mode' explained
Sometimes, channel memberships are put in 'paused mode'. This may happen if a channel changes MCNs, sets their channel as Made for Kids or is unable to monetise. When 'paused mode' happens, it means that the channel cannot monetise with memberships – this is often a temporary state. If a channel is in 'paused mode', it means that they cannot deliver perks and other benefits.
Payment details
If you're an active paid member of a channel in 'paused mode', your monthly recurring payment, billing cycle and access to memberships will also be paused.
If you signed up for a channel membership on iOS or Android, your monthly recurring payments may be cancelled if the channel is in paused mode after your billing period ends. If this happens, you will be notified that your membership has been cancelled and you will be able to join again if/when the channel's membership is unpaused.
Memberships can remain paused on a channel for a maximum of 90 days; after that point, memberships and members' monthly recurring payments will be cancelled.
How terminated channel memberships impact your payment
Channel membership refunds
Channel membership revenue share with creators
Use and manage your memberships benefits
Channel membership benefits for all members
- Member Recognition Shelf: If the Creator has this shelf turned on, then your avatar will be featured with other active members on the channels page. This shelf is the creator's way of publicly thanking you for being a member of their channel. If you cancel your membership, you'll no longer be featured on the shelf.
- Member Milestone Chats: For each month you remain a member (starting from your second consecutive month) youll get one Member Milestone Chat. Member Milestone Chats are special highlighted messages that can be used in live chat on live streams or Premieres. These special messages will highlight how long you've been a member of this channel in total and will be visible to all viewers.
- Exclusive public-facing membership badge next to your channel name in all comments and live chats that you make on the channel you're a member of
- On some channels, the badge will reflect how long you've been a member, either through different-coloured default badges or through different badges uploaded by the channel
- If you become a channel member during a live stream on that channel, a bright green 'New member' message will be sent in live chat and your profile picture will be pinned at the top of the chat for five minutes
- Access to members-only posts on the channel's Community tab (if offered by the channel)
- Access to creator perks that may be offered by the channel and are subject to change
- Exclusive access to members-only live chat (if offered by the channel)
- Exclusive access to a channel's public-facing custom emoji in live chat (if offered by the channel)
- Slow mode – which limits how often you can comment in live chat – does not apply to active paid members
By becoming a channel member, your exclusive membership badge will surface on all comments and live chats that you make on that channel.
Creator perks for different levels
What do I get for each level and how do I join?
This varies from channel to channel. You can see the different perks when you click Join.
I'm already a member, so how do I see the different perks available?
Go to the channel homepage that youve already joined select See perks.
Turn channel membership notifications on or off
When channels that you're a member of create members-only posts, you'll be notified about them in the Community tab and receive an email unless you've opted out of receiving emails from YouTube.
Turn off notifications
If you don't want to know about new members-only content, you can:
- Opt out of notifications and emails for individual channels that you're a member of.
- To opt out of notifications for members-only content: Go to Settings
Notifications
Turn off the switch next to Members only.
- To opt out of emails for members-only content: Use the Unsubscribe link in any members-only email you get. If you'd like to resubscribe to email notifications, go to Settings
Notifications
Under 'Email notifications' select 'Unsubscribed emails' and choose which emails you'd like to get.
- To opt out of notifications for members-only content: Go to Settings
- Turn off all notifications on your account.
See exclusive content in the Community tab
Report inappropriate perks
Privacy information
Visible membership status
- Your channel URL
- The name of your YouTube channel
- Your profile picture
- When you joined the channel as a member
- The level that you're a member of
How your information may be used
- All members have a visible badge that appears next to your channel name in comments and chat.
- If you become a channel member during a live stream on that channel, a bright green 'New member' message will be sent in live chat and your profile picture will be pinned at the top of live chat for five minutes, which shows your channel name when hovered over.
- Some channels may add your info above to a list of 'thank yous' in their videos or your info may be added to the channel's Recognition Shelf.
- Some channels may share your info above to give a service (for example, member-only access to a chatroom hosted by a third-party company).
Check and remove third-party site or app access
Remove third-party site or app access
- Go to your Google Account.
- On the left navigation panel, select Security.
- On the Third-party apps with account access panel, select Manage third-party access.
- Select the site or app that you want to remove.
- Select Remove Access.
Report a third-party site or app
Follow these steps if you believe that a site or app is misusing your data, for example, by creating spam, impersonating you or using your data in harmful ways.
- Go to the Apps with access to your account section of your Google Account. You might need to sign in.
- Select the app that you want to report
Report this app.
Learn more about account access for third-party sites and apps.