Change YouTube's Language in Your Account Settings

The fastest way to change YouTube's language is through your account settings. Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture in the top right corner, select Settings, then click Language on the left sidebar. Choose your preferred language from the dropdown menu and click Save. YouTube will reload in that language within seconds.

This method changes the language for your entire YouTube account across all devices where you sign in. The interface, menus, buttons, and recommended videos will all appear in your chosen language. If you use YouTube on multiple devices — phone, tablet, computer — you only need to change it once in settings, and it syncs automatically.

If you cannot find the Language option in Settings, scroll down the left sidebar. On some accounts it appears lower in the menu. The setting is always there; it may just require scrolling to locate it.

Key Takeaways

  • Sign in to YouTube, click your profile picture, select Settings, then click Language to change your interface language permanently.
  • Your language choice syncs across all devices where you sign in to the same account.
  • If you are not signed in, YouTube detects your browser or device language and uses that instead, but you can override it in the bottom left corner.
  • Changing your language does not affect video captions or subtitles — those are separate settings tied to individual videos.
  • YouTube offers over 75 languages, though some features may not be fully translated in less common languages.

Change Language Without Signing In

If you are browsing YouTube without an account, you can still change the language. Scroll to the bottom of any YouTube page and click the language selector in the bottom left corner — it usually shows your current language code, like "English" or "EN". A dropdown menu will appear with all available languages. Click the one you want.

This change applies only to your current browser session. If you clear your cookies, close the browser, or use a different device, YouTube will revert to detecting your device or browser language automatically. To make the change permanent, you need to sign in and change it in your account settings instead.

Change Language on the YouTube Mobile App

On the YouTube app for iPhone or Android, the language setting lives in a different place than the website. Open the app, tap your profile picture in the top right, then tap Settings. Scroll down and tap General. Tap Language and choose your preferred option from the list.

The mobile app language setting is tied to your Google account, so changing it on your phone will also change YouTube's language on your computer and any other device where you sign in. You do not need to change it separately on each device.

Understand the Difference Between Interface Language and Video Captions

Changing YouTube's language affects only the interface — the buttons, menus, and labels you see on the site. It does not change the language of the videos themselves or their captions. A video uploaded in English will still play in English even if you set YouTube's interface to Spanish.

Video captions and subtitles are controlled separately. When you play a video, click the CC button in the bottom right of the player to turn captions on. If the video has captions in multiple languages, click the settings gear icon, select Subtitles, and choose the language you want. Not all videos have captions, and not all videos have captions in every language.

Troubleshoot Language Changes That Do Not Stick

If you change your language but YouTube keeps reverting to a different one, your browser or device settings may be overriding your YouTube choice. Check your device's system language — YouTube sometimes defaults to matching that. On Windows, go to Settings > Time & Language > Language. On Mac, go to System Preferences > Language & Region. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Language & Region.

If you are using a browser extension or VPN, it may also force YouTube into a particular language based on your location. Try disabling the extension temporarily and changing the language again. If the change sticks without the extension, the extension was the cause.

Clear your browser cache and cookies, then sign back into YouTube and change the language again. Cached data sometimes prevents new settings from taking effect. In Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac), select All time, check Cookies and other site data, and click Clear data.

Change Language for YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is a separate app with its own language settings. Open the app and tap the gear icon in the bottom right to access Settings. Tap Language and select your preferred language. The change applies when ready and will remain the next time you open the app.

YouTube Kids language settings are independent of your main YouTube account. Changing the language on regular YouTube will not affect YouTube Kids, and vice versa. If a child uses YouTube Kids on a shared device, you can set it to a different language than the main YouTube account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing YouTube's language affect my watch history or recommendations?

No. Your watch history, subscriptions, and recommendations are based on the videos you watch, not the language of the interface. Changing the interface language will not erase your history or change what YouTube recommends to you.

Can I set different languages for different devices?

If you sign in with the same account on multiple devices, they will all use the same language because the setting syncs across your account. If you want different languages on different devices, you would need to use different Google accounts on each device.

What if my language is not in the dropdown menu?

YouTube supports over 75 languages, but not every language is available in every region. If your language does not appear, YouTube may not have translated the interface into that language yet. You can request a language through Google's translation community, but there is no timeline for when it will be added.

Does changing the language affect closed captions on videos?

No. The interface language and video captions are separate. You can have YouTube's menus in English and watch videos with Spanish captions, or any other combination. Each video's captions depend on what the uploader provided, not your interface language setting.

Why does YouTube keep showing me videos in a language I do not understand?

YouTube recommends videos based on what you watch, not the language of your interface. If you are seeing videos in a language you do not speak, it is because YouTube's algorithm thinks you might be interested in that content based on your viewing history. You can tell YouTube you are not interested in a video by clicking the three dots next to it and selecting Not interested.