YouTube Introduces Account Handles for All Channels
YouTube has announced the introduction of account ‘handles’ for every channel - a feature that users of most social media platforms will recognise as a quick and convenient way to connect with other profiles and creators.
Handles will be a new unique identifier (example @youtube) for all channels - they will be used across YouTube (Shorts, community posts, etc) and will also give channels a new URL (example: youtube.com/@youtube).
Unlike channel names, handles will be unique and will help people find and interact with channels, making it easy for users to confirm whether they're engaging with the right person or not.
Creators and artists can visit youtube.com/handle to choose or confirm their handle.
Handles and URLs
In the majority of cases (~99%), if you already have any type of personalised YouTube URL, Youtube has automatically reserved that URL as the handle. This means that if your custom URL is youtube.com/c/youtube, then @youtube will be reserved as the handle and no action will be needed. If you don't want @youtube to be your handle (and it's currently your custom URL), you can visit youtube.com/handle to choose another handle.
Handles and Channel Names
Unlike channel names, handles are truly unique to each channel and no two channels can share the same handle. Channel names will continue to be a prominent part of your YouTube identity and will be shown across most surfaces, but they are not unique to your channel.
Handles will simply be the unique identifier for anyone to find channels on YouTube and will be available across the search results, channel pages, comments and mentions, and more. These will roll out over time, so you may not see them all appear at once. In the future, you may see handles shown in even more places across YouTube.