2-Step Verification

0:27 To turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV) for a YouTube channel, turn it on for the Google Account that owns the channel: open myaccount.google.com, choose Security & sign-in, and under How you sign in to Google select Turn on 2-Step Verification (Turn on 2-Step Verification). YouTube requires it for every channel in the YouTube Partner Program (YPP overview), has required it to use YouTube Studio for monetizing creators since Nov 1, 2021, and requires it to apply for the Verification Badge. YouTube's own advice is to make the second step a passkey, the strongest protection against phishing (Secure your YouTube channel).

Quick facts

Sources: Secure your YouTube channel, YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility and Verification badges on channels, YouTube Help; Turn on 2-Step Verification, Google Account Help.

Where does YouTube require 2-Step Verification?

• YouTube Partner Program: 2SV turned on is one of the requirements every member must meet, alongside the subscriber and watch hour thresholds (YPP overview).
• YouTube Studio for monetizing channels: from Nov 1, 2021, YouTube required creators in the Partner Program to have 2SV on to get into Studio, announced by @TeamYouTube on Aug 23, 2021; creators outside the program can still use YouTube and upload without it (9to5Google, Aug 24, 2021). George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, welcomed it in his notes: Studio will not let a monetizing channel in without 2SV.
• Verification badge: a channel with 100,000 subscribers sees Turn on 2-step verification instead of Apply until it is on.
• Content Manager: George's notes record networks being told in Oct 2018 that everyone invited to a network's Content Manager must use 2SV or lose access, and YouTube removing accounts without it.

Anyone else with access to a monetizing channel should turn it on too: a manager's account is as good a way in for a hacker as the owner's.

How do I turn on 2-Step Verification for YouTube?

1. Sign in with the Google Account that owns the channel (for a Brand Account channel, your own account that manages it).
2. Open myaccount.google.com and choose Security & sign-in.
3. Under How you sign in to Google, select Turn on 2-Step Verification. The direct address is myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification.
4. Follow the steps and add at least one second step, ideally a passkey.
5. Add backup methods: Google prompts on your phone, an authenticator app, and printed backup codes kept somewhere safe.

0:56 YouTube Creators' May 7, 2020 setup video walks through the same steps in the older Google Account menus: 2-Step Verification, Get started, a sign-in prompt sent to your phone and answered with Yes, a backup text or call option, then Turn on. The menu names have changed since, but the order is the same.

If YouTube Studio still asks for 2SV afterwards, YouTube Help notes systems can take a few days to catch up, at least for the badge application; check you are signed in with the right account.

Which second step is safest?

YouTube's security page ranks them, strongest first (Secure your YouTube channel):

Phishing pages can trick you into typing a code, but a passkey or security key only works on Google's real sign-in, which is why YouTube recommends them. Google adds that prompts also help against SIM swap attacks, and that a new 2SV phone number can take up to 7 days to be trusted.

Beyond 2-Step Verification

YouTube's channel security advice has three parts (Secure your YouTube channel): protect devices against malware (Chrome's Enhanced Safe Browsing and antivirus software), turn on 2SV with a passkey, and add recovery options, a recovery phone and email, so you can get back in if locked out. Run Google's Security Checkup for advice tailored to your account. Share channel access only through Channel Permissions, never by sharing a password.

George Vanous's notes add a 2023 warning: Google may delete accounts that have not been used for at least 2 years, with their YouTube channels, so sign in to every Google Account that owns a channel now and then.

If 2SV came too late, see Hacked Channel Recovery.

Frequently asked questions

Does YouTube require 2-Step Verification? For channels in the YouTube Partner Program, yes: 2-Step Verification on the Google Account is a program requirement and has been needed to use YouTube Studio since Nov 1, 2021. Viewers and creators outside the program are not required to use it.

Why does YouTube Studio ask me to turn on 2-Step Verification? Your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program, or you are applying for the verification badge, and both require 2-Step Verification on the Google Account that owns the channel.

What is the best 2-Step Verification method for YouTube? A passkey. YouTube's security guide calls passkeys the strongest protection against phishing, followed by physical security keys and Google prompts; text message codes are the weakest.

I turned on 2-Step Verification but YouTube still says it's off. What now? Make sure you turned it on for the Google Account that owns or manages the channel, then wait: YouTube Help says its systems can take a few days to update.

Can I turn off 2-Step Verification on a monetized YouTube channel? The switch is in your Google Account, but a channel in the YouTube Partner Program would then stop meeting a program requirement and, under YouTube's 2021 rule, lose access to YouTube Studio.

Sources

• Secure your YouTube channel, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• YouTube Partner Program overview and eligibility, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Verification badges on channels, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Turn on 2-Step Verification, Google Account Help, read Nov 6, 2026
• Secure Your YouTube Account with 2-Step Verification, YouTube Creators, May 7, 2020 (video)
• Inactive Google Account policy, Google Account Help
• YouTube will force creators to use 2-step verification on Google accounts starting this year, 9to5Google, Aug 24, 2021