Guide
Follow a YouTube channel without a Google account
You can follow a YouTube channel without a Google account by watching it from outside YouTube: its RSS feed, an app that keeps your subscription list on your own device, or an alert service that only needs an email address. What you give up is the subscription itself, so you won't count toward the creator's subscriber number.
Why people do it this way
A YouTube subscription lives in a Google account, next to your watch history. Some people would rather not connect the two. Others are on a shared or work device where signing in isn't an option, or don't have a Google account and don't want one. You never needed an account to watch a video, only to hear about the next one.
The options
The channel's RSS feed
Every public channel has a feed of its latest uploads. Add it to any feed reader and new videos show up there, without an account anywhere. The channel RSS feed guide has the URL, how to find the channel ID and the feed's limits.
An app that keeps subscriptions on your device
There are open-source YouTube apps, for phones and for computers, that let you "subscribe" to channels and keep that list on your own device instead of in a Google account. They are unofficial: they can break when YouTube changes, and some aren't in the usual app stores. If you try one, install it only from the project's own site or a store you trust, never from a random download.
An alert service that needs only an email
Listabell, the tool we build, is one of these. You sign up with an email address and follow the channel, and each new upload reaches you by email or Telegram. It reads public YouTube data only and never asks for access to a Google account. Each account can follow a limited number of channels. Channel upload alerts compares it with the other ways to be told.
What you give up
It doesn't count as a subscription
The creator's subscriber number only counts subscriptions made from a YouTube account. Following from outside doesn't show up in it, and that's the cost if you want to support a creator.
No Subscriptions feed or bell
Those belong to the account. The feed reader, the app or your inbox takes their place.
Common questions
Can I subscribe to a YouTube channel without an account?
Not on YouTube itself: a subscription belongs to a Google account. You can still follow a channel from outside YouTube, with its RSS feed, an app that stores subscriptions on your device, or an email alert service.
Does following through RSS or Listabell count toward the channel's subscribers?
No. Only subscriptions made from a YouTube account count. Following from outside YouTube tells the creator nothing.
Does Listabell need my Google account?
No. An email address is all it needs. It reads public YouTube data only and never sees your subscriptions or watch history.
Follow a channel with just an email
Get each new upload by email or Telegram, without a Google account.