Guide
Get an alert when a YouTube channel uploads
To get an email or a Telegram message every time a YouTube channel uploads, you need something outside YouTube to watch the channel for you. YouTube's bell sends alerts inside its own app, and since April 2026 it can mute them for channels you haven't watched in a while. None of the options below depend on what you watch.
Every channel has an uploads playlist
Everything below relies on this. Behind every channel, YouTube keeps a playlist of everything the channel has uploaded, and its ID is the channel's own ID with one letter pair swapped: a channel ID starts with UC, and the same ID starting with UU is its uploads playlist.
channel UCxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
uploads UUxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxSo following a channel's uploads means following one playlist that happens to contain everything. That's how Listabell does it, and it's why the same tool can follow a single series or a whole channel.
The options, compared
YouTube's bell, set to “All”
Built in and free. Alerts arrive in the YouTube app and its Inbox. Since April 2026 YouTube can stop the push alerts for a channel you haven't watched in about a month.
Best when: you watch the channel regularly anyway.
A feed reader
YouTube publishes an RSS feed for every public channel. You don't need an account or a third party, but the reader has to be running to notice anything, and the feed only holds the latest videos.
Best when: you already use a reader every day.
An automation service
Services such as IFTTT have ready-made YouTube triggers that can post to email, Telegram or elsewhere. It's flexible, but each automation means another account and another set of plan limits to keep an eye on.
Best when: you already automate other things there.
Listabell
Follow the channel once, and every new upload arrives as an email or a Telegram message with its title, thumbnail and link, checked every hour. It's free and doesn't need a Google account.
Best when: you want every upload delivered and nothing to maintain.
The free, no-account route is the feed reader: the channel RSS feed guide has the URL and its limits. If a push on your phone matters more than an inbox, Telegram is the channel to pick; YouTube notifications on Telegram covers the bots and how to link one.
Setting it up with Listabell
- 1
Create a free account
All it needs is an email address. You don't sign in with Google.
- 2
Open New subscription and choose Channel
Search for the channel by name, check the preview, and follow it.
- 3
Pick email, Telegram or both
You choose this in Settings. From then on, every new upload reaches you there within the hour.
Each account can follow a limited number of channels, and the Channel tab shows how many you've used. If you only care about one series, following that playlist instead is quieter and doesn't use a channel follow. Not sure which you need? Follow a channel or a playlist? helps you choose.
Hear about every upload
Follow a channel and get each new video by email or Telegram. It's free.