YouTube unveils new handles feature

YouTube said the new tool will make it easier for creators to engage with their audiences across various platforms including YouTube Shorts and channel pages. After handles are fully launched, users will be able to @mention others in the comments, community posts, video descriptions, and other places.

“It’ll soon be simpler and faster to mention each other in comments, community posts, video descriptions and more,” YouTube said. “For example, creators can be shouted out in a mention in comments or tagged in the title of a recent collab, helping them increase visibility and reach with new audiences. Handles join channel names as another way to identify a YouTube channel, but unlike channel names, handles are truly unique to each channel so creators can further establish their distinct presence and brand on YouTube.”

The handles will be made available to every user on YouTube whether they are a creator or not and regardless of the size of their subscriber base. YouTube says creators should look for a notification to arrive over the next month. However, established creators will get access to the feature first, as YouTube plans to use factors such as creators overall YouTube presence, subscriber count and channel active status to determine when to offer a creator the ability to set up their own handle.

Support for handles will be rolled out in phases starting next week. To protect creators from having their channel name taken, YouTube says channels that already have a personalised URL will see that becoming their default handle unless they choose to change it. After a handle is established, YouTube will additionally create a matching URL in the format of youtube.com/@handle, which would allow the creator to market their handle elsewhere on the web or in other media.

Prior to this, 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 discussions. Instead, you’d have to reply to another YouTube user’s comment in order to tag them.