YouTube has no folders for subscriptions. Every channel you follow lands in one Subscriptions feed, and the channel list can only be sorted. To group channels by topic, you can save videos to playlists by hand or use a browser extension such as Retube, which turns any set of channels into its own feed.
What YouTube lets you do with subscriptions
YouTube lets you sort your subscriptions and manage their notifications, but not group them.
- The Subscriptions feed shows recent uploads from every channel you follow, together under Latest. There is no setting to split it by topic.
- All subscriptions lists every channel you follow. Select it at the top of the Subscriptions page, then sort the list by Most relevant, New activity, or A-Z, change a channel’s notifications, or unsubscribe. In the YouTube app, open Subscriptions and tap All. Sorting reorders this list only. The feed stays one mix.
- The notification bell sets each channel to All, Personalized, or None. All notifies you of every long-form upload and live stream, so the bell can flag a few must-watch channels, but it doesn’t group them.
- Playlists hold videos, not channels. You can keep one playlist per topic, but new uploads never arrive in it on their own: you save each video by hand.
- YouTube’s custom feed is an experiment on the Home tab that builds a feed from a text prompt, such as “quick weeknight dinners”. YouTube chooses the videos, so the feed isn’t limited to channels you pick. According to YouTube Help, you can keep one custom feed at a time, it’s available only in English in the United States, it needs you signed in with watch and search history on, and a prompt expires after 30 days of inactivity.
In short, sort and manage subscriptions on the All subscriptions page. To group them by topic, you need playlists or an extension.
Three ways to group channels
| YouTube on its own | Playlists | Retube | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you group | Nothing: one feed for every channel | Videos you save | Channels you choose |
| New uploads | Arrive, all mixed together | Never arrive on their own | Arrive in each topic’s feed |
| Number of groups | One Subscriptions feed | As many playlists as you like | As many feeds as you like |
| Where it works | Web and the YouTube app | Web and the YouTube app | YouTube in Chrome on a computer |
| Cost | Free | Free | Free, no account |
Playlists suit a fixed set of videos, such as a course or the recipes you plan to cook this week. When you want each topic to fill itself with new uploads, use an extension. Several extensions add folders or groups to YouTube. This guide uses Retube.
Category ideas that work
Group channels by what you want to watch, not by how you found them. Some starting points:
- Science & tech: explainers, engineering, and product reviews.
- Cooking: recipes, techniques, and weeknight dinners.
- DIY: home repair, woodworking, and electronics.
- Fitness: workouts, mobility, and running.
- Learning: languages, math, and history.
- Faith: lectures, study circles, and short reminders.
- Travel: city guides, hiking, and trip planning.
Start with one feed and five to ten channels you already watch. A channel can sit in more than one feed, so a cooking channel that also covers nutrition can go in both Cooking and Fitness.
