Quick answer
yt.be/activate is Google's official short link. It forwards to Google's Connect a device page at accounts.google.com. That is the only place your TV code should ever go.
How to check you are on the real page
- Look at the address bar.After the page loads, the address should start with accounts.google.com.
- Look at the page.Google's page is titled Connect a device and asks only for the code. It never asks for payment.
- Type the address yourself.Typing yt.be/activate into the browser is safer than tapping a link from a search ad, email or message.
The code trick to watch out for
The TV code system has one weakness. Whoever generates a code and gets someone else to approve it gets signed in. Security researchers call this device code phishing. It works like this:
- Someone starts a sign-in on their own device and gets a real code.
- They send you that code with a reason: "verify your account", "claim a prize", "finish your support ticket".
- You enter it on the real Google page and choose Allow. Their device is now signed in to your account.
Fake "activation" websites
Search for yt.be/activate and you will find many unofficial pages. Some are simple guides like this one. Others imitate YouTube, show a box for your code, or ask you to call a number. Close any page that:
- asks you to type your TV code anywhere other than accounts.google.com,
- asks for your Google password outside Google's own sign-in screen,
- asks for money, a gift card, a phone call or remote access to your computer,
- uses YouTube's logo and colours but sits on a different web address.
Check and remove TVs signed in to your account
- See every signed-in device: myaccount.google.com/device-activity. Select one you do not recognise and choose Sign out.
- Remove all TV access at once: myaccount.google.com/permissions, open YouTube on TV and choose Remove Access. Every TV using your account is signed out.
More detail: how to sign out of YouTube on a TV.
Questions people ask
Who owns yt.be?
Google. yt.be is YouTube's short domain, and yt.be/activate forwards to Google's sign-in page on accounts.google.com.
Someone sent me a code to enter. Should I?
No. Only enter a code that your own TV is showing right now, while you are sitting in front of it. A code from anyone else can give them access to your account.
I entered a code I should not have. What now?
Go to myaccount.google.com/device-activity and sign out any device you do not recognise, then go to myaccount.google.com/permissions and remove access you did not give. Change your Google password if you also typed it on another site.
Does Google charge to activate YouTube?
No. Signing in to the YouTube app is free. Any page that asks for payment, a phone call or remote access to your computer to activate YouTube is not Google.