YouTube Partners can now connect their Google+ profiles to use their real names

Google has today announced that YouTube Partners will now be able to switch to display their full name as it appears on their Google+ profile.

The Internet giant has been striving to unify its various products for some time now, introducing single sign-ins across its various products. This is perhaps most evident with YouTube – the video-hosting platform it acquired way back in 2006.

Once-upon-a-time you had completely separate log-in credentials for YouTube, but from early 2009 all new sign-ups required a Google account. This was finally extended to those with existing YouTube accounts, and they were forced to connect their YouTube and Google accounts in 2011.

Then in March this year, Google announced that you could sign-up for a YouTube account using your Google+ details, a feature that was extended to existing users in June. Why would an existing user wish to use their Google+ Profile when they have a perfectly good YouTube account already? Well, it seems that those who signed-up initially with a really silly moniker or some other pseudonym they no longer wish to be associated with, could use their real identity from Google+.

Of course, if you’d rather be anonymous or keep your old, familiar profile then you could do so by ignoring the option to update. Though naturally, Google would very much like folk to use their real names, so it’s perhaps only a matter of time before the ‘option’ is removed, though maybe this is me being cynical.

However, this feature was only made available to ‘individuals’ – those with Partner accounts, or brands and organizations didn’t have this option. From today, though, Partners – those signed-up to monetize their videos – can also upgrade their usernames if they so wish, by tapping their Google+ Profile.

‘Opting in’, as Google calls it, means that folk such as the artist-formerly-known-as robs70986987, now shows up as Rob Scallon:

However, as Google notes – YouTube only supports using a Google+ profile identity, which is designed for individuals who want to use their full names. So, if your YouTube channel is built around a brand name you’ll need to wait until Google+ Pages are available to link up – something it says it’s currently working on. For the record, Google+ Pages are aimed at companies, and as many as fifty folk can administer an account.

To switch, you need to head to the advanced section in your account settings and click: Begin using my full name on YouTube.

This will only work if your Google+ profile is attached to the same account as your YouTube Channel. Obvious, we know, but worth mentioning. Oh, and it seems that if you change your mind, you can switch back to your previous moniker too.