Google Workspace for Education - All Versions
A Brand. The theme or design that distinguishes one thing, person, or good from another. Better said, it is an online presence. In the world at large, branding is a hot topic. However, when branding accounts for Google services in an education domain, there may be better choices than letting users create an identity separate from their Google account.
YouTube Brand Accounts provide more than one person access to manage content and comments for a YouTube channel. In the past, K-12 schools would enable Brand Accounts to permit multiple individuals within the organization to administer YouTube channels for cases like a community relations department communicating to parents/guardians and the surrounding community. In higher education, schools may have branded channels to record public events available for perpetuity.
Warning: If you choose not to use Brand Accounts, you risk losing access should a staff member separate from your organization, where they previously managed the access. If that account is suspended/deleted, you could lose the videos on their account.
Historically, Brand Accounts worked for a variety of Google services. However, Brand Accounts only work with YouTube and Google Photos if the account creation date is before August 4, 2021.
Since August 4, 2021, newly created Brand accounts only work with YouTube and will show this text: limited to YouTube. This update does not impact existing brand accounts; only accounts created after that date.
Let’s look at Brand Accounts for YouTube channels and the controls admins have over what users can create and manage with those accounts.
Recommendation: Brand or not to brand
CDW Amplified for Education recommends leaving the Brand Accounts Admin console setting OFF for staff and students. If Brand Accounts are needed, consider using Access Groups to allow a small subset of users to create and manage those accounts.
Admin console: Brand Accounts service status
The service status setting for Brand Accounts is located here:
Apps > Additional Google services > Settings for Brand Accounts > Service Status
Google has given schools the ability to control who can create and use Brand Accounts. Brand Accounts are considered a service that admins turn ON or OFF by the Organizational Unit (OU) or Access Group; however, as an additional Google service, they are not covered by the Google Workspace Agreement.
It is important to understand that there are no controls for the setting in terms of what services can be used with Brand Accounts. If it is turned ON, Brand Accounts can be used for any of the available services that use Brand Accounts as long as that service itself is turned ON for the Workspace user.
Enable Brand Accounts
As Google Admins, your first step is to double-check that the Brand Accounts additional service is OFF at the Root level. Then, you can explicitly enable the service for those OUs who need it and are able to utilize it.
Note: Users must be 18 or older to use the service.
Next, properly enable the Brand Account service. CDW Amplified for Education recommends utilizing an Access Group. An access group ensures that only the identified users can use the service instead of turning it on for an entire OU.
When ON:
Users/Access Group members can create YouTube channels.
YouTube restrictions (Strict/Moderate) apply even when logged in to the Brand Account’s Channel.
When OFF:
When Users or Access Group members attempt to create a new channel on YouTube (youtube.com/account) they receive an Invalid Request.
Not specific to YouTube, the ability to join brand accounts also requires the Brand Accounts service to be ON.
Need Help?
If you would like assistance with managing your settings or training your team, book some time with our technical services team contacting our support team.
The best way to reach support is to enter a support ticket through the Help Center. Here's the direct Submit a ticket link, which is available at the top of every Help Center page. You can also connect with our support team by emailing support@amplifiedit.cdw.com.
If you want to obtain a support contract or have questions, reach out to a Google Customer Support Specialist.
Learn more about the various ways we can help your team.
Resources
See, Turn Brand Accounts on or off for users - Google Account Help
| Document Version | Date | Description of Change |
| 1.0 | 3/18/2024 | Updated link away from AIT legacy site |
| 1.1 | 7/31/2024 | Updated email address |
| 1.2 | 8/16/2024 | Added email content block |
| 1.3 | 8/20/2024 | Revised, promoted, published, reverify |