Where to find and cancel your YouTube subscriptions

To cancel a YouTube subscription, go to YouTube.com and click your profile icon in the top right corner. Select "Subscriptions" from the menu. You'll see a list of every channel you're subscribed to. Find the channel you want to unsubscribe from, click the "Subscribed" button next to it (it will be highlighted in blue), and confirm that you want to unsubscribe.

The button will change to "Subscribe" once you've cancelled. You won't receive notifications from that channel anymore, and it will no longer appear in your subscription feed. You can resubscribe to the same channel at any time by clicking "Subscribe" again.

If you're on a mobile device, the process is nearly identical. Open the YouTube app, tap your profile icon, go to "Subscriptions," find the channel, and tap the blue "Subscribed" button to cancel.

Key Takeaways

  • Click your profile icon, select "Subscriptions," find the channel, and click the blue "Subscribed" button to cancel.
  • Unsubscribing removes the channel from your feed and stops notifications, but you can resubscribe anytime.
  • The process works the same way on desktop, mobile app, and mobile web browser.
  • Cancelling a subscription does not delete your YouTube account or affect any videos you've uploaded.
  • You can manage multiple subscriptions at once by unsubscribing from several channels in a row.

Unsubscribe from the channel page directly

You don't have to go through your subscriptions list to cancel. You can unsubscribe while watching a video from that channel. Look for the "Subscribed" button below the video title (on desktop) or below the channel name (on mobile). Click or tap it, and you'll immediately unsubscribe.

This method is faster if you're already watching content from a channel you want to leave. The button location varies slightly depending on whether you're on a computer or phone, but it's always near the channel name or logo.

Bulk unsubscribe from multiple channels at once

If you want to clean up your subscriptions quickly, YouTube lets you unsubscribe from several channels without leaving the subscriptions page. Go to your subscriptions list, click the "Subscribed" button on each channel you want to leave, and confirm each one. You can do this for as many channels as you want in a single session.

There is no "select all" or batch unsubscribe feature, so you'll need to click each channel individually. However, the process only takes a few seconds per channel, so removing dozens of subscriptions takes just a few minutes.

What happens after you unsubscribe

When you unsubscribe from a channel, that channel stops appearing in your subscription feed. You won't get notifications about new uploads, and the channel won't show up in your "Subscriptions" list anymore. However, you can still watch videos from that channel anytime — unsubscribing doesn't block you from viewing their content.

Your watch history and any videos you've liked from that channel remain unchanged. Unsubscribing only affects whether you follow the channel going forward. If you change your mind, you can resubscribe by clicking "Subscribe" on the channel page or in your subscriptions list.

Resubscribe to a channel you've left

To resubscribe to a channel after cancelling, search for the channel by name or visit it directly if you remember the URL. Click the "Subscribe" button, and you'll be back on their subscription list. Your notification settings will return to YouTube's default (usually all notifications on), so adjust them if you want fewer alerts.

Resubscribing doesn't restore any custom notification settings you had before. If you previously turned off notifications for a channel and then unsubscribed, you'll need to turn them off again after resubscribing.

Manage notifications instead of unsubscribing

If you want to stay subscribed to a channel but don't want notifications, you can adjust your notification settings instead of unsubscribing. Click the bell icon next to the "Subscribed" button on the channel page. You can choose "All," "Personalized," "Only important," or "None." This keeps the channel in your subscriptions list but controls how often YouTube bothers you about new uploads.

"Personalized" means YouTube will notify you about videos it thinks you'll be interested in based on your watch history. "Only important" sends notifications only for major uploads or announcements from the channel. "None" silences notifications entirely while keeping you subscribed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does unsubscribing delete my YouTube account?

No. Unsubscribing from channels does not affect your YouTube account in any way. Your account, watch history, liked videos, playlists, and any channels you own all remain exactly as they were. You're only removing that specific channel from your subscriptions list.

Can I see a list of channels I've unsubscribed from?

YouTube does not keep a record of channels you've unsubscribed from. Once you unsubscribe, the channel disappears from your subscriptions list. If you want to find it again, you'll need to search for it by name or remember the channel URL.

Will the channel know I unsubscribed?

No. Channel creators cannot see which individual viewers have unsubscribed from their channel. They can only see their total subscriber count, which changes as people subscribe and unsubscribe, but they have no way to identify you personally.

What's the difference between unsubscribing and blocking a channel?

Unsubscribing removes the channel from your subscriptions list and stops notifications. Blocking a channel (available through the channel's menu) prevents their videos from appearing in your recommendations and search results. Blocking is more restrictive than unsubscribing.

Can I unsubscribe from a channel on a smart TV?

Yes. On YouTube on a smart TV, navigate to the channel page, highlight the "Subscribed" button using your remote, and press select or enter to unsubscribe. The exact steps depend on your TV model and remote, but the button location is the same as on other devices.