Profiles

Profiles

YouTube Zero supports multiple profiles — separate, isolated views of the app for different people on the same install. Channels and videos are stored once and shared, but each profile keeps its own state.

What is per-profile

Each profile has its own:

• followed channels (subscriptions)
• video state — inbox / queued / archived, watch-later buckets, progress, likes
• tags and automatic tag rules
• filter rules
• local playlists and playlist rules
• watch history
• display, player, and language settings

Channels and videos themselves are global — a channel followed by several profiles is still fetched only once, which keeps background work and storage efficient.

The primary profile

The primary profile is the first profile (the original "Default"). It is special:

• It owns app-wide settings: app name, icon color, Child Lock, and the Authentication method.
• It is the only profile that sees the Authentication tab.
• It cannot be deleted.
• It can edit other profiles' names, colors, and avatars, and reset their PINs — but never sees or sets another profile's PIN.

Every other profile manages only its own data.

Managing profiles

Open the profile menu (top right) or go to Settings → Profiles to:

• add a profile (name, color, avatar, optional PIN)
• edit a profile's name, color, or avatar
• set or remove your own 6-digit PIN
• delete a non-primary profile (from within that profile)

Switching profiles

How switching works depends on the active authentication method:

• None — pick any profile from the menu; PIN-protected profiles ask for their PIN.
• Shared login / OIDC gateway — switch freely after signing in (PINs are not used).
• Login per profile / OIDC mapped / Proxy header — switching requires signing out and back in as the other profile.

When an authentication method is active, the per-profile PINs are replaced by the login and are hidden.