The first time you hire an editor, the scary part is not the money. It is that giving someone access to your channel feels like handing over the keys to the thing you spent years building. Most creators either overshare access because they do not know the options, or refuse entirely and end up emailing files back and forth forever.
YouTube has a permission system that solves this properly. Here is which role to use, what it actually allows, and the part nobody covers: how you review their work once they have access.
The short answer
Go to YouTube Studio, open Settings, then Permissions, and invite your editor by email with the <strong>Editor</strong> role. They get full editing access to your videos and channel details, but they cannot delete published videos, cannot change permissions, and cannot sign contracts on your behalf. If you would rather they never see revenue figures, use <strong>Editor (Limited)</strong> instead.
The roles, and which one you actually want
There are more roles than most people realise, and the differences matter:
- Owner — can do everything, including deleting the channel and managing permissions. This is you. Do not hand it out.
- Manager — manages permissions and channel data, can upload, publish and delete content. Cannot delete the channel. Appropriate for a business partner, not a freelancer.
- Editor — full editing of content and channel details, but cannot delete published content, cannot manage permissions, and cannot enter contracts. This is the one you want for an editor.
- Editor (Limited) — identical to Editor, minus access to revenue data. Use this if you would rather your earnings stay private.
- Subtitle Editor — can only add, edit, publish and delete subtitles. Useful for a translator or captioner.
- Viewer — read-only on channel details and analytics, including revenue. For an accountant or a manager who only needs numbers.
- Viewer (Limited) — read-only without revenue.
Editor is the default answer for a freelance video editor. It covers everything they need to do their job and specifically excludes the three things you would not want a contractor doing: deleting your published back catalogue, adding other people to your channel, and committing you to agreements.
Editor (Limited) exists precisely because "I trust you with my videos" and "I want you to see what I earn" are two different decisions.
How to add them
- 1Open YouTube Studio and go to Settings, then Permissions.
- 2Choose Invite, and enter the email address attached to their Google account.
- 3Pick the role — Editor, or Editor (Limited) if you want revenue hidden.
- 4Send the invitation. They will get an email and need to accept it.
Two things that catch people out. Invitations expire after 30 days, so an editor who starts next month will need a fresh one. And if your channel is still on an older Brand Account setup, YouTube will ask you to migrate to channel permissions first — a one-time step you only do once.
Removing access is the same screen: Settings, Permissions, then Remove next to their name. Do this the day a contract ends, not the week you remember.
What your editor should NOT need
If someone asks for your Google account password, that is not how this works and you should treat it as a red flag. Channel permissions exist so nobody ever needs your login. The same goes for two-factor codes.
The part that access does not solve
Here is the gap. Channel permissions decide who can <em>upload</em>. They do nothing about the actual back-and-forth of getting a cut right, which is where the time goes.
The usual pattern: the editor sends a link, you watch it, you type notes into WhatsApp, and half of them are unusable.
"The intro drags, and the music is too loud in the middle bit. Also the cut around 40 seconds feels off."
Three comments pinned at 0:04, 1:12 and 0:41, each on the exact frame being described.
The problem is not that creators give bad notes. It is that video lives in time, and to point at something you have to describe when it happens — and humans are genuinely poor at that. The moment you noticed the music swell is not the moment it started. By the time you reached for the keyboard, two seconds passed. You write "around 0:47", the editor scrubs there, hears nothing wrong, and you are both annoyed.
Pinning each note to the exact second removes the describing step entirely — the editor clicks the comment and lands on the frame you meant. See how timestamped review works →
A review loop that survives more than one video
- 1Agree the number of revision rounds before the first cut. Two is normal. Unlimited is how editors quietly start hating you.
- 2Send all notes in one batch, not as you think of them. A trickle of messages across three days is three days of your editor not finishing.
- 3Give every note a timestamp. If your tool does not do it automatically, type it yourself.
- 4Separate "this is wrong" from "this is a preference". Editors can act on the first immediately; the second needs a conversation.
- 5Approve explicitly. "Looks good" is not an approval, and a video that is never formally approved never feels finished.
None of that requires a tool. It requires deciding the rules once and repeating them, which is the part most creators skip because the first video felt fine without them.
Frequently asked
Can my editor upload videos to my channel?
Yes. The Editor role can upload and publish. What they cannot do is delete content that is already published, which is the safeguard that matters.
Can my editor see how much I earn?
With the Editor role, yes. Use Editor (Limited) instead — it is identical except revenue data is hidden.
Do I need to give them my password?
No, and you should never need to. Channel permissions exist so that access can be granted and removed without sharing a login.
Can my editor delete my videos?
Not published ones. An Editor cannot delete published content. A Manager can, which is one reason not to hand out Manager to a freelancer.
How do I remove an editor when the work is finished?
Settings, then Permissions, then Remove next to their name. Make it part of finishing a contract rather than something you get round to.
How many revision rounds should a video get?
Two is the common standard, agreed before the first cut. The number matters less than the fact that a number exists and both people heard it.