How do I give an agency or editor access to my YouTube channel safely?

Sharing your Google password gives someone access to far more than YouTube: your Gmail, Drive, contacts, saved passwords and any account that uses Google sign-in. It also triggers security checks that can lock you out, and if the relationship ends badly you have to change everything. YouTube's channel permissions exist so you never need to do this. They let someone work on the channel using their own Google account, with a level of access you choose.

To set it up, open YouTube Studio on a computer, click Settings, then Permissions, and choose Invite. Enter the person's email address and pick a role. Viewer lets them see analytics and video details without changing anything, which is all an audit needs; Viewer (limited) hides revenue figures. Editor lets them edit and upload videos and metadata; Editor (limited) does the same without seeing revenue. Manager can also add and remove other people. They accept the invitation by email, and the access appears in your Permissions list.

Give the minimum and review it. An auditor needs Viewer or Viewer (limited), not Editor. A video editor uploading drafts may need Editor (limited). Only someone you trust to manage your team should be Manager, and nobody but you should be Owner. When the audit is delivered or the contract ends, remove the person from the Permissions list; it takes seconds. Any agency, including ours, that insists on your password rather than a Studio invitation is a reason to stop and ask why.