YouTube Android App basics
Watch the world’s videos and keep up with your favorite YouTube channels with the official YouTube app for Android. Sign in to access your subscriptions, playlists, uploads, purchases, history and more.
Download and install the Android app
The YouTube app for Android can be downloaded from Google Play on phones or tablets running Android 4.0 and above.
Visit the Google Play Help Center to learn about managing Android app downloads from Google Play.
Sign in to YouTube
To sign in, go to 
Menu > Sign in. Select an existing account on your Android device, or go to Add Account to add a new account to your device.
*YouTube for Android requires a Gmail account for sign in. If you’re unable to sign into your account, visit our accounts troubleshooting guide.
Switch channels
If you have multiple channels associated with the same account, you can switch channels by signing out and signing in again. To sign out, go to 
Menu > Sign out.
*Fix a sign in issue: If you’re unable to sign in to your account, visit our sign in troubleshooting guide.
For questions about Google identities on YouTube, please visit YouTube Accounts help.
Watch videos in the Android app
Touch a thumbnail to begin playing a video. Touch the 
menu icon in the video player to access additional viewing options.
- Full screen: To play the video in full screen, touch the
full screen icon or rotate your device horizontally. - Video quality: To manually adjust the video quality, touch
> on a video. - Captions: Enable captions on a video by selecting > CC on a video. Not all videos may have closed captioning available.
full screen icon or rotate your device horizontally.
on a video.Watch videos while browsing
Minimize the video to navigate the app without missing a single moment of the video you’re currently watching. This way, you can browse suggestions, playlists, and more without pausing or stopping the video.
- Minimize and maximize the player: Swipe down to minimize the video player and continue navigating the app. Swipe upwards on the minimized video to maximize it again.
- Dismiss the player: Swipe left to right if you no longer want to view the minimized video
Playback settings
Limit mobile data usage by going to Menu > Settings > General > Limit mobile data usage. When enabled, HD video will only stream on a Wi-Fi connection.
Upload videos
You can upload videos to YouTube in a few easy steps. Below you can find the necessary instructions to upload your videos from a computer or from a mobile device.
The easiest way to upload videos from an Android device is to use the YouTube app.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Open the Guide in the upper left corner of the screen and navigate to Uploads.
- Touch the Upload icon
at the top of the screen. - Select the video you want to upload.
- Adjust the title, description, tags and privacy settings of your video.
- On supported devices, you’ll also see a video preview with trim handles below it. Drag the trim handles to edit your video’s length. A long press on the trim handle will allow you to zoom into a frame by frame view for exact trimming.
- Touch the Upload icon.
in the upper left corner of the screen and navigate to Uploads.
at the top of the screen.Tip: Go to Settings > Uploads to modify the type of connection used to upload videos. Use this setting to restrict uploads to Wi-Fi only.
Control YouTube on TV with your phone, tablet, or computer
Connect over Wi-Fi
If you’re using a supported TV or game console, your phone, tablet, or computer will connect to your TV automatically when both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. Touch or click the 
icon to select the display on which your video will play.
Manual pairing
If you’re unable to connect over Wi-Fi, you can manually pair your TV with your second device.
Step 1: Find the pairing code
- Launch YouTube on your TV or game console.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Scroll to the Pair device screen.
Step 2: Enter the pairing code
- Launch the YouTube Android app.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Connected TVs then select Add a TV.
- Enter the pairing code shown on your TV or game console.
Touch or click the icon to select the display on which your video will play.
Remove or edit a connected TV
Remove or edit a Connected TV by returning to the pairing screen on your mobile device or computer.
- On your computer, go to youtube.com and click Settings > Connected TVs to remove or edit a TV.
- On iOS, touch Settings > Connected TVs and touch Connected TVs again to remove or edit a TV.
- On Android, touch Menu > Settings > Connected TVs > Edit TVs to remove or edit a TV.
- On the mobile site, touch Settings > Connect to TV > My TVs to remove or edit a TV.
To remove all paired devices from your connected TV, go to Settings > Delete > OK.
Ads based on my interests
While logged in to the YouTube mobile app, anonymous YouTube account information, such as age range, gender and YouTube video interactions, may be used to serve you relevant ads on YouTube. You can manage your logged in YouTube ads settings by logging in to Google Ads Settings.
Whether you are logged in or not, the ads you see may be based on the content of the videos you’ve viewed. Depending on settings you’ve chosen in the Google Ads Settings for Apps, these additional factors may determine which ads you see:
- Types of videos you’ve viewed
- The apps on your device
- The websites you visit and your use of apps
- Anonymous identifiers associated with your mobile device
- Previous interactions with Google’s ads or advertising services
- Your geographic location
Off the YouTube mobile app, Google may also use your anonymous account information, such as age range, gender and YouTube video interactions to tailor content and ads. You can manage settings for Ads by Google in the YouTube app and in these other mobile apps with the Google Ads Settings for Apps.
Accessibility for YouTube on Android
The YouTube Android app works with Android’s accessibility features. Android provides accessibility support for blind and low vision users with the TalkBack, BrailleBack applications, and special accessibility features. Visit the Android Accessibility Help Center to learn more, including how to enable these settings.
Double-tap the top-left corner of the app to find and open the guide. On some screens, you may need to double-tap “navigate up,” then “open guide” to access the guide. After opening the guide, use two fingers to scroll. Double-tap on an element in the guide to open one of the features below:
- What to Watch feed
- My Subscriptions feed
- Uploads
- Playlists you’ve created or saved
- Subscriptions
Sign in to your account by following the steps below:
- Double-tap the top-left corner of the app to open the guide.
- Double-tap the first menu item to open the Android account selector.
- Select your account name.
To sign out, double-tap the “More options” menu, located in the top-left corner of the app. In the “More options” menu, double-tap the Sign out option.
Use two fingers to scroll through videos in a feed, playlist, or channel. As you scroll, you’ll hear the name of the video and the associated meta data.
Feeds: While browsing the What to Watch feed or a channel’s Home feed, you may encounter a set of related videos from a playlist or channel, which are grouped together in the feed. Double-tap “Show more” to expand this set of videos. To open the related playlist or channel, double-tap on the name of the channel or playlist.
Channels: On a channel, use the tabs for Home, Videos, Playlists to browse through content from the selected channel.
To search for a video using Explore By Touch, touch the top of the screen to find the search btn, located next to the “More options” element.
- Double-tap on the search btn and add your search query to the “edit box.”
- Double-tap on the “Drop-down list” to change your search filters.
- Use Explore By Touch to browse search results.
Once you’ve found a video to play, double-tap to begin playback. Double-tap the “Player” at the top of the screen to bring up the player controls.
Player controls and options
Pause: Double-tap “pause video” to pause the video.
Minimize video: Double-tap the “Minimize btn” to minimize a video during playback. When a video is minimized, you can browse or search while it continues to play.
Dismiss minimized video: Double-tap “Player” and swipe to the right using two fingers to dismiss the minimized video player.
Expand minimized video: Double-tap “Player” and swipe up using two fingers to expand the minimized video player.
Add to playlist: Double-tap the “Add-to btn” to open the “Add video to” alert. Use Explore by Touch select a playlist. To create a new playlist, double-tap “New playlist.”
- Touch “Edit box – Title” to name your playlist.
- Double-tap “Private checkbox” to make your playlist private or public. When the checkbox is checked, the playlist will be private.
More options:
- Change video quality: Double-tap the “Video quality menu btn.”
- Report a video: Double-tap the “Flag btn.”
- Closed captions: Double-tap the “Closed captions menu btn.”
Below the video, you’ll find the following information or features:
- Video description and meta data
- Like and dislike btns
- Channel subscribe btn
- Video suggestions
- An option to add a comment
- Comments about the video
Navigate to your YouTube video uploads by opening the guide and double-tapping Uploads. Use two fingers to scroll through videos that you’ve uploaded to your channel.
Upload a video
- Double-tap “Uploads” in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Double-tap the “Upload” btn at the top of the screen, located next to “Search.”
- Scroll through your device’s photo gallery to find a video to upload. Double-tap to select a video.
- Enter your video title in the “Title” edit box.
- Enter a video description in the “Description” edit box.
- Select a privacy level (Private, Unlisted, or Public) from the “Privacy” drop-down list.
- Double-tap “Upload” in the top-right corner of the screen to upload your video.
Edit a video
To edit a video’s title, description, or privacy settings, follow the steps below:
- Use two fingers to scroll through your uploaded videos.
- Double-tap the “Menu btn” next to the video you’d like to edit.
- Double-tap “Edit” in the video’s “Alert” box.
- Double-tap the title or description edit boxes, or the “Privacy” drop-down list.
- Double-tap “OK btn” when you’re done with your edits.
Delete a video
To delete one of your uploaded videos:
- Use two fingers to scroll through your uploaded videos.
- Double-tap the “Menu btn” next to the video you’d like to edit.
- Double-tap “Delete” in the video’s “Alert” box.
- When prompted to “Delete this video,” double-tap the “OK btn” on the right.
Troubleshoot YouTube for Android
Home screen widget unavailable on Android
You may have noticed that the Home screen widget is no longer supported after updating to the latest version of the Android app. With less than half a percent of views coming through the widget, we’re instead focusing on making the What to Watch experience even more useful for finding great new videos to watch.
- Remove the widget: Touch and hold, then drag up to remove.
- Feedback: If you’d like to provide feedback to the team about this change, go to Menu > Send Feedback in the app.
