YouTube broadly supports @username format with launch of YouTube handles

YouTube makes it easier for creators to direct viewers to their channels. The company today announced "Handles," a new way for creators to identify their channel with an @username format to interact with their viewers on YouTube Shorts, channel pages, in descriptions video, in the comments, etc. These IDs will be available to everyone on YouTube: you don't need to be a creator of a certain size or have a certain number of subscribers to claim your own unique @id, YouTube says.

Usernames and usernames are common on social media, including sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram and others. But YouTube had only offered limited support for the format - allowing creators to mention channels in video titles and descriptions with the @ symbol, or mention other users in YouTube Live chats, for example. But the @username option was not available in other areas and threads. Instead, you'll need to reply to another YouTube user's comment in order to tag it.

With YouTube expanding into TikTok territory with YouTube Shorts, however, the company now wants to more closely mimic the way the Bytedance-owned video app encourages users to engage in on-the-go discussions. back and forth through their short videos and in the resulting results. ensuing discussions and video responses. To work, this requires the use of @usernames - or @handles as YouTube calls them.

YouTube says the new handles will appear on both channel pages and shorts, making them "instantly and consistently recognizable" across the platform. Once handles are fully launched, users will be able to @mention others in comments, community posts, video descriptions, and elsewhere. While these handles do not replace the channel name itself, they will be unique to YouTube, allowing creators to establish a distinct presence for themselves on the platform.

Handle support will begin to roll out gradually, starting next week. To prevent creators from having their channel name staked by someone else in what is sure to be one of the biggest username landgrabs on the internet, YouTube notes that channels that already have a custom URL will see this will become their default ID unless they choose to change it. .

The company also said the handles rollout schedule has been designed to ensure that established creators will have access to the feature first, as YouTube plans to use factors such as the creator's overall presence on YouTube, subscriber count, and whether the channel is active or inactive — to determine when to offer a creator the ability to set up their own ID.

Once a handle is established, YouTube will additionally create a corresponding URL in the format youtube.com/@handle, which will allow the creator to market their handle elsewhere on the web or in other media. And if the channel already had a custom URL that it was using for a similar purpose, it won't need to update its links: that URL will automatically redirect to the new URL based on the handle.

All YouTube users will be able to get started at some point. YouTube says creators should expect a notification to arrive within the next month.