How to Find Friends on YouTube

Quickly search for your friends' YouTube channels

Last Updated: March 26, 2023 Tested

While there’s no way to import your contacts into YouTube, you can still find your friends’ channels with a little Internet sleuthing. If a friend uses their full name in their YouTube profile, you can find them with YouTube’s built-in search. Some YouTube mobile app users can add friends as contacts, thanks to a new feature (still being rolled out) called Shared Videos.

Steps

1
Go https://www.youtube.com/ in a web browser or open the YouTube app. If you are using a computer, go to the YouTube website and log in with your Google account. If you are using a smartphone or tablet, tap the icon with the red YouTube logo to open the YouTube app on your smartphone or tablet.
2
Tap the Search
icon (smartphones and tablets only). If you are using the YouTube app on a smartphone or tablet, tap the icon that resembles a magnifying glass in the upper-right corner to display the search bar.

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3
Type your friend’s name or username into the YouTube search bar. If your friend has attached their real name to their YouTube account, you’ll be able to find them through the Search function. If you know your friend's username, you can type that into the search bar as well. You can do this on the YouTube website or in the mobile app.
- You may also try searching for your friend using their email address or keywords related to videos they have posted.^{[1]
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4
Click or tap the Search
icon. This icon looks like a magnifying glass. It's in the lower-right corner of the keyboard on smartphones and tablets, and to the right of the search bar at the top in a web browser.
5
Click or tap
. It's the icon that resembles three slider bars. It is in the upper-right corner of the smartphone and tablet app. On the website, it's below the search bar at the top. This displays options that allow you to filter your search.
6
Click Channel. If your friend has posted videos to YouTube, they can be found on his channel. This filters your search down to your friend's channel.
7
Browse for your friend’s channel. If your friend has a common name, several channels may appear in the search results. Browse each channel by clicking the profile photo to the right of its name.
8
Click or tap Subscribe. Once you’ve located your friend, you can subscribe to their channel by clicking (or tapping) the red “Subscribe” button. This button appears at the top of the user’s channel.