diff --git a/backend/app/auth.py b/backend/app/auth.py
index 1466c72..b765d9c 100644
--- a/backend/app/auth.py
+++ b/backend/app/auth.py
@@ -11,9 +11,12 @@ from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import OAuthToken, User
 from app.security import encrypt
 
-# Single YouTube scope that allows reading subscriptions/playlists AND writing
-# (unsubscribe, playlist export). openid/email/profile give us the account identity.
-SCOPES = "openid email profile https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube"
+# YouTube's full scope (read + write: unsubscribe, playlist export) and its read-only
+# counterpart. Default login asks for read-only; write is an explicit opt-in via
+# /auth/upgrade (incremental consent), so friends who won't grant write can still browse.
+WRITE_SCOPE = "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube"
+READ_SCOPES = f"openid email profile {WRITE_SCOPE}.readonly"
+WRITE_SCOPES = f"openid email profile {WRITE_SCOPE}"
 
 log = logging.getLogger("subfeed.auth")
 
@@ -25,10 +28,18 @@ oauth.register(
     client_id=settings.google_client_id,
     client_secret=settings.google_client_secret,
     server_metadata_url="https://accounts.google.com/.well-known/openid-configuration",
-    client_kwargs={"scope": SCOPES},
+    client_kwargs={"scope": READ_SCOPES},
 )
 
 
+def has_write_scope(user: User) -> bool:
+    """Whether the user's stored grant includes YouTube write (unsubscribe / export)."""
+    tok = user.token
+    if tok is None or not tok.scopes:
+        return False
+    return WRITE_SCOPE in tok.scopes.split()
+
+
 @router.get("/login")
 async def login(request: Request):
     # access_type=offline ensures a refresh_token on first authorization. We avoid
@@ -40,6 +51,7 @@ async def login(request: Request):
         access_type="offline",
         prompt="select_account",
         include_granted_scopes="true",
+        scope=READ_SCOPES,
     )
 
 
@@ -80,7 +92,7 @@ async def callback(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     tok.expiry = (
         datetime.fromtimestamp(expires_at, tz=timezone.utc) if expires_at else None
     )
-    tok.scopes = token.get("scope") or SCOPES
+    tok.scopes = token.get("scope") or READ_SCOPES
     db.add(tok)
     db.commit()
 
@@ -106,6 +118,20 @@ def current_user(request: Request, db: Session = Depends(get_db)) -> User:
     return user
 
 
+@router.get("/upgrade")
+async def upgrade(request: Request, user: User = Depends(current_user)):
+    """Incremental consent: re-authorize with the full YouTube (write) scope. The shared
+    callback stores the new scope set, so `can_write` flips on once Google grants it."""
+    return await oauth.google.authorize_redirect(
+        request,
+        settings.oauth_redirect_url,
+        access_type="offline",
+        prompt="consent",
+        include_granted_scopes="true",
+        scope=WRITE_SCOPES,
+    )
+
+
 @router.get("/me")
 async def me(user: User = Depends(current_user)) -> dict:
     return {
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/channels.py b/backend/app/routes/channels.py
index 871bbff..b2338ce 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/channels.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/channels.py
@@ -5,9 +5,10 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException
 from sqlalchemy import and_, func, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
-from app.auth import current_user
+from app.auth import current_user, has_write_scope
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import Channel, ChannelTag, Subscription, Tag, User, Video
+from app.youtube.client import YouTubeClient, YouTubeError
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api/channels", tags=["channels"])
 
@@ -101,6 +102,35 @@ def update_channel(
     }
 
 
+@router.delete("/{channel_id}/subscription")
+def unsubscribe(
+    channel_id: str,
+    user: User = Depends(current_user),
+    db: Session = Depends(get_db),
+) -> dict:
+    """Unsubscribe from this channel on YouTube and drop the local subscription. Gated
+    behind the optional write scope; read-only users get a 403 and should Hide instead."""
+    if not has_write_scope(user):
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=403,
+            detail="Enable playlist editing in Settings to unsubscribe on YouTube.",
+        )
+    sub = _user_subscription(db, user, channel_id)
+    if not sub.yt_subscription_id:
+        raise HTTPException(
+            status_code=400,
+            detail="No YouTube subscription id on record — sync subscriptions first.",
+        )
+    try:
+        with YouTubeClient(db, user) as yt:
+            yt.delete_subscription(sub.yt_subscription_id)
+    except YouTubeError as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"YouTube unsubscribe failed: {exc}")
+    db.delete(sub)
+    db.commit()
+    return {"unsubscribed": channel_id}
+
+
 @router.post("/{channel_id}/tags")
 def attach_tag(
     channel_id: str,
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/me.py b/backend/app/routes/me.py
index 9919aed..ef532c7 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/me.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/me.py
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session
 
-from app.auth import current_user
+from app.auth import current_user, has_write_scope
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import User
 
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def get_me(user: User = Depends(current_user)) -> dict:
         "display_name": user.display_name,
         "avatar_url": user.avatar_url,
         "role": user.role,
+        "can_write": has_write_scope(user),
         "preferences": user.preferences or {},
     }
 
diff --git a/backend/app/youtube/client.py b/backend/app/youtube/client.py
index 274861c..62f2125 100644
--- a/backend/app/youtube/client.py
+++ b/backend/app/youtube/client.py
@@ -151,6 +151,25 @@ class YouTubeClient:
             params["pageToken"] = page_token
         return self._get("playlistItems", params)
 
+    def delete_subscription(self, subscription_id: str) -> None:
+        """Unsubscribe on YouTube. Requires the write scope and the user's OAuth token
+        (never the public API key). subscriptions.delete costs 50 quota units."""
+        resp = self._http.delete(
+            f"{API_BASE}/subscriptions",
+            params={"id": subscription_id},
+            headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {self._access_token()}"},
+        )
+        quota.record_usage(self.db, 50)
+        if resp.status_code not in (200, 204):
+            log.warning(
+                "YouTube subscriptions.delete -> %s: %s",
+                resp.status_code,
+                resp.text[:200],
+            )
+            raise YouTubeError(
+                f"DELETE subscriptions -> {resp.status_code}: {resp.text[:300]}"
+            )
+
     def get_videos(self, video_ids: list[str]) -> list[dict]:
         items: list[dict] = []
         for batch in _chunks(video_ids, 50):
diff --git a/frontend/src/App.tsx b/frontend/src/App.tsx
index 3569a9f..806586d 100644
--- a/frontend/src/App.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/App.tsx
@@ -152,6 +152,7 @@ export default function App() {
             <Feed filters={filters} setFilters={setFilters} view={view} />
           ) : (
             <Channels
+              canWrite={meQuery.data!.can_write}
               onViewChannel={(id, name) => {
                 setFilters({ ...filters, channelId: id, channelName: name, show: "all" });
                 setPage("feed");
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
index e0681ed..a9cb47b 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Channels.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   Plus,
   RefreshCw,
   Search,
+  UserMinus,
   X,
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { api, type ManagedChannel, type Tag } from "../lib/api";
@@ -17,8 +18,10 @@ import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
 import Tooltip from "./Tooltip";
 
 export default function Channels({
+  canWrite,
   onViewChannel,
 }: {
+  canWrite: boolean;
   onViewChannel: (id: string, name: string) => void;
 }) {
   const qc = useQueryClient();
@@ -70,6 +73,15 @@ export default function Channels({
     mutationFn: (id: number) => api.deleteTag(id),
     onSuccess: () => invalidate(),
   });
+  const unsubscribe = useMutation({
+    mutationFn: (id: string) => api.unsubscribeChannel(id),
+    onSuccess: () => {
+      qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["channels"] });
+      qc.invalidateQueries({ queryKey: ["my-status"] });
+      notify({ level: "success", message: "Unsubscribed on YouTube" });
+    },
+    onError: () => notify({ level: "error", message: "Unsubscribe failed" }),
+  });
   const deepAll = useMutation({
     mutationFn: () => api.deepAll(true),
     onSuccess: (r: { updated?: number }) => {
@@ -214,6 +226,15 @@ export default function Channels({
               key={c.id}
               c={c}
               userTags={userTags}
+              canWrite={canWrite}
+              onUnsubscribe={() => {
+                if (
+                  window.confirm(
+                    `Unsubscribe from "${c.title ?? c.id}" on YouTube? This changes your real YouTube account. To just remove it from your feed, hide it instead.`
+                  )
+                )
+                  unsubscribe.mutate(c.id);
+              }}
               onView={() => onViewChannel(c.id, c.title ?? "This channel")}
               onPriority={(d) => patch.mutate({ id: c.id, body: { priority: c.priority + d } })}
               onHide={() => patch.mutate({ id: c.id, body: { hidden: !c.hidden } })}
@@ -268,6 +289,8 @@ function SyncBadge({ ok, label, hint }: { ok: boolean; label: string; hint?: str
 function ChannelRow({
   c,
   userTags,
+  canWrite,
+  onUnsubscribe,
   onView,
   onPriority,
   onHide,
@@ -276,6 +299,8 @@ function ChannelRow({
 }: {
   c: ManagedChannel;
   userTags: Tag[];
+  canWrite: boolean;
+  onUnsubscribe: () => void;
   onView: () => void;
   onPriority: (delta: number) => void;
   onHide: () => void;
@@ -373,6 +398,18 @@ function ChannelRow({
           {c.hidden ? <EyeOff className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Eye className="w-4 h-4" />}
         </button>
       </Tooltip>
+
+      {canWrite && (
+        <Tooltip hint="Unsubscribe from this channel on YouTube (changes your real account). Read-only mode hides this — use Hide instead.">
+          <button
+            onClick={onUnsubscribe}
+            className="text-muted hover:text-red-400 shrink-0"
+            aria-label="Unsubscribe on YouTube"
+          >
+            <UserMinus className="w-4 h-4" />
+          </button>
+        </Tooltip>
+      )}
     </div>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
index eb53106..7ce8db8 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SettingsPanel.tsx
@@ -449,10 +449,34 @@ function Account({ me }: { me: Me }) {
           <div className="text-xs text-muted capitalize">{me.role}</div>
         </div>
       </div>
-      <p className="text-xs text-muted leading-relaxed">
-        Playlist editing &amp; YouTube export, and the admin approval queue, arrive in the next
-        phases of this milestone.
-      </p>
+      <div className="mt-1 pt-3 border-t border-border">
+        <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-3">
+          <div className="min-w-0">
+            <div className="text-sm font-medium">Playlist editing &amp; YouTube export</div>
+            <p className="text-xs text-muted leading-relaxed mt-0.5">
+              {me.can_write
+                ? "Granted. You can unsubscribe from channels on YouTube (and export playlists once that ships). Subfeed only writes when you ask it to."
+                : "Subfeed is read-only by default — it can browse your subscriptions but not change your YouTube account. Enable this to unsubscribe from channels (and, later, export playlists). You'll re-consent with Google."}
+            </p>
+          </div>
+          {me.can_write ? (
+            <span className="shrink-0 text-[11px] px-2 py-1 rounded-full border border-accent/40 text-accent">
+              Enabled
+            </span>
+          ) : (
+            <Tooltip hint="Redirects to Google to grant YouTube write access (unsubscribe / export). You can keep using Subfeed read-only if you skip it.">
+              <button
+                onClick={() => {
+                  window.location.href = "/auth/upgrade";
+                }}
+                className="shrink-0 glass-card glass-hover px-3 py-1.5 rounded-xl text-sm transition"
+              >
+                Enable
+              </button>
+            </Tooltip>
+          )}
+        </div>
+      </div>
     </Section>
   );
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index 022a594..4aafc50 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ export interface Me {
   display_name: string | null;
   avatar_url: string | null;
   role: string;
+  can_write: boolean;
   preferences: Record<string, any>;
 }
 
@@ -198,6 +199,8 @@ export const api = {
     req(`/api/channels/${id}/tags`, { method: "POST", body: JSON.stringify({ tag_id: tagId }) }),
   detachChannelTag: (id: string, tagId: number) =>
     req(`/api/channels/${id}/tags/${tagId}`, { method: "DELETE" }),
+  unsubscribeChannel: (id: string) =>
+    req(`/api/channels/${id}/subscription`, { method: "DELETE" }),
   syncSubscriptions: () => req("/api/sync/subscriptions", { method: "POST" }),
 
   // --- user tags ---