Where to find and change your age on YouTube

Your age on YouTube lives in your Google Account settings, not in the YouTube app itself. To change it, you go to myaccount.google.com, click Personal info on the left side, find the Date of birth field, and edit it there. YouTube pulls your age from Google Account every time you sign in, so changing it in one place updates it everywhere Google services use it.

The process takes about two minutes. You will need to know your current password to make the change — Google asks you to re-enter it as a security step before letting you edit personal information. If you have forgotten your password, you can recover it through the same Google Account page before you try to change your age.

After you save the new date of birth, YouTube may take a few minutes to update what it shows on your channel and in your account settings. If you are changing your age because you turned a year older, the change usually shows up right away. If you are correcting an error from when you first created the account, it may take longer.

Key Takeaways

  • Your YouTube age comes from your Google Account date of birth, which you change at myaccount.google.com under Personal info, not in YouTube itself.
  • You must enter your Google Account password to change your date of birth, as a security measure.
  • Changing your age in Google Account updates it across all Google services, including YouTube, Gmail, and Google Play.
  • YouTube may take a few minutes to show the updated age on your channel and in your account settings.
  • If you are under 18, changing your age to 18 or older may unlock features like monetization and certain content settings that were restricted before.

Why YouTube needs your real age

YouTube uses your age to decide what features you can access and what content restrictions explore to your account. If you are under 13, YouTube does not allow you to create your own account — a parent or guardian has to set it up and manage it. If you are 13 to 17, you can have your own account, but YouTube locks certain features like channel monetization and some privacy settings until you turn 18.

Age also affects what ads you see and what data YouTube collects about you. Accounts marked as under 18 get stricter privacy protections under laws like COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) in the United States. YouTube also uses your age to filter search results and recommendations — content marked as age-restricted will not show up if your account says you are under 18.

If you entered the wrong birth date when you created your account years ago, updating it now makes sure YouTube is enforcing the right rules for your actual age. If you are now old enough to unlock features you could not use before, the change takes effect once YouTube processes the update.

Step-by-step: changing your date of birth

Step 1: Go to myaccount.google.com in your web browser and sign in with the Google Account connected to your YouTube channel.

Step 2: Click Personal info in the left menu. If you do not see it, click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top left first.

Step 3: Scroll down until you see Date of birth. Click the pencil icon next to it to edit.

Step 4: Enter your correct birth date using the month, day, and year fields. YouTube requires all three — you cannot leave any blank.

Step 5: Click Save. Google will ask you to enter your account password again to confirm the change.

Step 6: Type your password and click Next. The change is now saved.

Once you complete these steps, go back to YouTube and refresh the page. Your age should update within a few minutes. If you do not see the change right away, sign out of YouTube completely, close your browser, and sign back in.

What happens if you are under 18

If your account shows you are under 18, YouTube restricts several features even if you own the account yourself. You cannot turn on monetization to earn money from videos, you cannot use YouTube Studio's full analytics, and you cannot access some of the advanced settings for comments and community posts. These restrictions lift automatically on your 18th birthday, or when ready if you update your age to 18 or older.

YouTube also limits what you can do with your channel's privacy settings. If your account is under 18, you cannot make your channel private, and certain data-sharing options are turned off by default. These are legal protections, not YouTube's choice — they exist because of laws that protect minors online.

If you are a parent managing a child's account through Family Link, you cannot change the child's age yourself through the regular Google Account settings. The age is locked in Family Link until the child turns 13 and you transition them to their own account, or until they turn 18 and the restrictions lift automatically.

If you cannot find the date of birth field

Some older Google Accounts do not have a date of birth on file at all. If you go to Personal info and do not see the Date of birth field, click Add date of birth or look for a plus icon next to that section. You can add it the same way you would edit it — enter your birth month, day, and year, and save.

If you see the date of birth field but the pencil icon does not appear when you hover over it, your account may have restrictions from Google. This sometimes happens if your account was flagged for unusual activity or if you are under 18 and your account is managed by Family Link. In that case, you may need to wait until you turn 18, or contact Google Account support for help.

If you are trying to change your age but keep getting an error message, make sure you are using the correct password. Google requires you to re-authenticate before changing personal information. If you have tried your password several times and it is not working, use the "Forgot password?" link on the same page to reset it, then try again.

How age changes affect your YouTube channel

If you were under 18 and just turned 18, or if you corrected your age to show you are actually 18 or older, YouTube will unlock monetization features within 24 hours. You can then explore to the YouTube Partner Program if your channel meets the requirements (1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months). You will also gain access to YouTube Studio's full suite of analytics and the ability to use Super Chat and channel memberships.

Changing your age does not affect videos you have already uploaded, your subscriber count, or your watch history. It only changes what features are available to you going forward. If you had a video demonetized because your account was under 18, that video does not automatically become monetized after you turn 18 — but you can re-monetize it manually in YouTube Studio if it meets the current monetization policy.

If you are changing your age downward (which is rare), YouTube will disable monetization and some advanced features when ready. This is a one-way street — once you lower your age, you cannot re-enable those features until you turn 18 again or correct your age back to what it actually is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my YouTube age without changing my Google Account age?

No. YouTube does not have a separate age setting — it always uses the date of birth from your Google Account. If you want to change your age on YouTube, you have to change it in Google Account settings. The two are linked and cannot be separated.

How many times can I change my age on YouTube?

Google allows you to change your date of birth, but there are limits. You cannot change it more than once every 12 months. If you just changed it recently, you will have to wait until a year has passed before you can change it again. This is a security measure to prevent account takeovers.

Will changing my age delete my videos or channel?

No. Changing your age does not delete anything. Your videos, subscribers, playlists, and watch history all stay exactly as they are. The only thing that changes is which features YouTube lets you use based on your new age.

What if I am under 13 and want to use YouTube?

YouTube does not allow accounts for anyone under 13. If you are under 13, a parent or guardian can set up a supervised account through Google Family Link. They manage the account and control what you can watch and do. You cannot change this yourself — your parent or guardian has to set it up.

Does changing my age affect my YouTube recommendations?

Yes, it can. If you changed your age from under 18 to 18 or older, YouTube may start showing you content that was previously age-restricted. Your recommendations may shift to include videos marked for mature audiences. If you changed your age downward, age-restricted content will be filtered out of your recommendations.