If you are a full-time YouTuber, then your channel is your bread and butter. And it becomes very important for you that your channel is safe and secure from being hacked or deleted otherwise, you may have to face financial issues. So here are some ways that can keep your channel safe.
How to Keep YouTube Channel Safe?
You might have heard of many YouTube channels being hacked in recent months, and it is a very serious problem that you should be careful about. Another thing is that many a time YouTube also deletes some channels permanently because of the violations of some policies and community guidelines on its platform.
So you need to be safe from hackers as well as YouTube as a platform because both can snatch your channel and hamper your earning source. YouTube has also taken the security of channels seriously and has improved the monitoring systems, but there are some measures from your end also to be taken into consideration.
1. Create a Strong Password
It is always advised to create a very strong password containing a combination of letters, numbers, symbols, and different characters. Also, never enter your password information on any page other than account.google.com since that’s one-way passwords are stolen. If you work with a team, do not share your password with them, either.
A password manager can also help you to create and manage strong, and unique passwords. You have to always keep in mind that YouTube never asks for your password in an email, message, or phone call, so never give out your passwords. YouTube will never send a form asking for personal information such as identity numbers, financial data, or passwords.
2. Turn On 2-Step Verification
Adding 2-Step Verification means that you’ll protect your account with both your password and additional information — like a prompt on your phone, or a physical device like a security key — to confirm it’s really you.
You can also use physical security keys which look like a USB pen drive. Whenever you try to log in to your Google account, you’ll need to plug that security key into your PC. That’s the reason, security keys are a stronger verification option because they help prevent phishing techniques that use text message codes.
3. Beware of Phishing Links
Whenever you get emails that ask for your login passwords, stay away from them. Never click on those phishing links because they can steal your password and eventually your channel also.
Look out for any emails that ask for your account login information — legitimate emails from YouTube about your account will never ask for your login information. If you suspect an email may be a phishing or malware scam, don’t click on any links before verifying they are correct by hovering over them.
4. Follow Content Guidelines on YouTube
For every video, make sure that every bit of your content follows the community guidelines, copyright guidelines, and other policies of YouTube before publishing that on your channel. Violating any policies on YouTube or making misleading content can lead YouTube to take down your video, restrict some options on your channel, give a strike, and if you get 3 strikes in the same 90-day period then your channel can also be removed permanently.
Don’t use any copyrighted material in your videos without getting a license or permission from the copyright owner. There are a lot of websites that provide royalty-free background music, stock images, and footage. You can use them on your videos without thinking of any copyright issues, you just have to comply with their terms and conditions; some ask you to pay some fee and some just ask you to credit them in your videos.
If you are a part of the YouTube Partner Program, then you have to keep your channel safe from the risks of Google AdSense also. Many a time, AdSense puts some restrictions on the advertisements being shown in your videos and serious violation of its policies can lead to permanent termination of Google AdSense also. So you have to be careful about that also, and if you’ve linked a blog website with the same AdSense then you have to look at both your channel as well as your website complying with its policies.
Also Read: Copyright Claims vs Strikes on YouTube
5. Avoid Using Gmail
You should always try not to use or share with anyone the Gmail of that Google account with which you have created your YouTube channel. Many times, potential hackers try to log in to your account by randomly guessing some passwords because they have your Gmail address. It’s very easy nowadays to create a Gmail account, so create a new one for general use and avoid using the primary one.
Many YouTubers add an email for business inquiries in the about section of their channels. You should always use a different email for adding there or sharing with anyone. This way, you can keep your Gmail account private which in turn can make your YouTube channel safe from potential hackers.
