You can delete YouTube in two ways: uninstall it completely, or just remove it from your home screen
The method you choose depends on whether you want YouTube gone entirely or just hidden. If YouTube came pre-installed on your phone, you may not be able to fully uninstall it — you can only disable it or remove the app icon. If you downloaded YouTube yourself from the Google Play Store, you can delete it completely. Either way, the process takes less than a minute.
The steps below work on any Android phone running Android 6 or newer. If you change your mind later, you can reinstall YouTube from the Google Play Store at any time.
Key Takeaways
- Pre-installed YouTube can usually only be disabled or removed from your home screen, not fully deleted from the system.
- YouTube you downloaded yourself can be completely uninstalled through the Google Play Store or your phone's app settings.
- Disabling YouTube stops it from running in the background and removes it from your app drawer, but keeps it on your phone.
- You can reinstall YouTube later from the Google Play Store if you decide you want it back.
How to uninstall YouTube if you downloaded it yourself
If you installed YouTube from the Google Play Store rather than it coming with your phone, you can remove it completely. Open the Google Play Store app, tap your profile icon in the top right corner, then select Manage my apps and games. Find YouTube in the list, tap it, and select Uninstall. Confirm by tapping Uninstall again.
Alternatively, you can uninstall directly from your phone's settings. Go to Settings > Apps (or Application Manager on older phones), find YouTube in the list, tap it, and select Uninstall. This method works the same way and removes the app completely.
How to disable pre-installed YouTube
If YouTube came with your phone and cannot be uninstalled, you can disable it instead. Go to Settings > Apps, find YouTube, and tap it. Select Disable (the button may say Turn off depending on your phone). This stops YouTube from running in the background and removes it from your app drawer.
Disabling is not the same as uninstalling — the app still takes up storage space on your phone, but you will not see it or be able to open it. If you later want to use YouTube again, go back to the same screen and tap Enable.
How to remove YouTube from your home screen without deleting it
If you want to keep YouTube installed but just get it off your home screen, long-press the YouTube icon and select Remove from home screen or Uninstall (depending on your phone). Choose Remove from home screen if that option appears — this keeps the app installed but hides it.
You can still find YouTube in your app drawer (usually accessed by swiping up from the bottom of your home screen or tapping the grid icon). This is the quickest option if you might want to use YouTube occasionally but do not want it taking up prime real estate on your home screen.
What happens to your YouTube data when you delete the app
Uninstalling or disabling YouTube does not delete your account or your watch history. Your YouTube account stays active on Google's servers, and your subscriptions, playlists, and viewing history remain intact. When you reinstall YouTube and sign back in, everything will be there.
However, the app will clear its local cache — temporary files stored on your phone. This means YouTube will take a moment to reload your recommendations and subscriptions the first time you open it after reinstalling. This is normal and does not affect your account.
Troubleshooting: YouTube won't uninstall or disable
If you see a message saying you cannot uninstall or disable YouTube, it is because your phone manufacturer or carrier installed it as a system app. In this case, you can only disable it, not remove it completely. Go to Settings > Apps > YouTube and tap Disable.
If the Disable button is also grayed out, YouTube may be set as a device administrator. Go to Settings > Security (or Biometrics and security) > Device admin apps, find YouTube if it appears, and tap it to remove admin access. Then return to the Apps section and disable it. After this, you should be able to disable the app without issues.
How to reinstall YouTube if you change your mind
Open the Google Play Store, tap the search icon, and type YouTube. Select the official YouTube app (made by Google LLC), and tap Install. Wait for the installation to finish, then tap Open to launch the app. Sign in with your Google account, and your subscriptions and history will reappear.
If you disabled YouTube instead of uninstalling it, go to Settings > Apps > YouTube and tap Enable. The app will be back in your app drawer and ready to use immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting YouTube free up a lot of storage space?
YouTube itself is a small app, usually 50 to 100 megabytes. The cache it builds up over time can be larger, but uninstalling will only free up a few hundred megabytes at most. If you need storage space, deleting photos, videos, or other large apps will have a much bigger impact.
Can I delete YouTube but keep YouTube Music?
Yes. YouTube and YouTube Music are separate apps. You can uninstall or disable YouTube without affecting YouTube Music, and vice versa. They do not share the same installation, so removing one does not remove the other.
What if I disabled YouTube and now I cannot find the enable button?
Go to Settings > Apps, then look for a menu option (three dots or lines) and select Show system apps. YouTube should now appear in the list. Tap it and select Enable. If you still cannot find it, restart your phone and try again.
Does uninstalling YouTube stop Google from tracking me?
Uninstalling the YouTube app does not stop Google from collecting data about you through other Google services like Search, Gmail, or Maps. If you want to limit Google's data collection, you can adjust your privacy settings in your Google Account at myaccount.google.com, which controls tracking across all Google services.