The creator community has raised concerns over YouTube’s recent removal of an essential feature that lets creators publish their contact email addresses. This change has made it difficult for creators to connect with followers and brands.

Contact emails removed

For many years, YouTube let producers display their email addresses on their channel pages, making it particularly helpful for brands looking to engage in sponsored content partnerships, from small video game promotions to major collaborations with brands valued at thousands of dollars. On July 10, 2024, users discovered that this feature had been removed.

Impact on creators and brands

It’s possible that creators will lose out on important opportunities as a result of the removal of this feature. EvolvePR’s account manager, Shawn, promptly informed creators about the change via social media.

“It is more important than EVER to have your email in your bio — and in your ‘About’ section on YouTube — because YouTube has completely removed our ability to get your email address from the platform. No email, no opportunities. Pass it on,” he advised.

Easy access to contact details is crucial, according to Nick Slegel of Dulcedo artists Agency, who helps creators land brand collaborations.

“It’s so important to have an easy-to-find email in your bio on all platforms, because if I discover someone I’d love to work with on YouTube (for example) and I can’t contact them, now I have to waste time playing detective to try,” he explained.

He continued by saying that brands might not go above and beyond to search for contact details on other platforms, which could result in missed opportunities and lost revenue for creators.

What creators can do now

Creators can still add their email addresses to the “About” section of their channels even though the built-in email button has been removed. This data was formerly secured by a captcha, which helped in preventing spam emails. From now on, creators will have to take more responsibility to make sure that their contact details are accessible and simple to locate.