Handles, usually denoted by an @ sign before a name or nickname, are useful for people who want to create an identity, express their opinion or make a joke – and many social networks, such as Twitter, TikTok and Facebook, have adopted it. . Now, finally, so is YouTube – and not just for the established creators.
Until recently, the only people who had YouTube handles — individual URLs that let people find your videos — were those with at least 100 subscribers. The rest of us used URLs that went something like this: youtube.com/user/your.handle. Now YouTube is rolling out handles for all its users – @ names that will be used to identify you on channel pages, Shorts and other YouTube areas.
YouTube sends notifications via email or, if you’re already a creator, via YouTube Studio; at that time you can choose your handle. If you’ve already created a personalized URL for your channel, YouTube will automatically assign it as your default handle; but when you get tired of it, you get the option to change it.
I haven’t made many YouTube videos – last time I looked I had two, neither of which are worth mentioning – but I got my invite yesterday. So here’s how the relatively simple process for choosing a handle works.
Apparently the new handles are now just reserved – they will actually be put into service later this year. At that point, you can access your videos by, for example, going to youtube.com/@your.handle. However, your old youtube.com/user URL will still work. And if you decide you’re not happy with your choice, you can go back to https://www.youtube.com/handlewhere the former Choose handle button will now read Change handle.
