How to check a YouTube account's creation date

If you're buying an aged account, or just curious about your own, the creation date is easy to find. There are a few places it appears, and they don't always mean exactly the same thing.

1. The channel's About section

Open the channel page, then the About panel (on mobile it opens from the channel description). Look for the “Joined” line. This is the date the YouTube channel was created, and it's the date most buyers and sellers refer to.

2. YouTube Studio

Inside YouTube Studio, the channel settings show advanced details for the channel, including when it was created. This is visible only to the account owner, so it's the check to do right after you sign in.

3. Google Takeout and account history

Google Takeout exports include account activity going back to the start of the account. The oldest activity entries give a good indication of how long the Google account itself has existed, which can be earlier than the YouTube channel.

Channel date versus account date

A Google account and its YouTube channel are related but separate. An account created in 2007 might have opened its channel later. Listings on this site describe the YouTube join date, which is the one shown publicly.