YouTube as a platform came out to the public on December 15, 2005.

To clear up the related dates people often mention:

  • It was created/founded on February 14, 2005 (that’s when YouTube, Inc. and the idea were formally started).
  • A beta version of the site went live around May 2005.
  • It then launched to the public (out of beta) on December 15, 2005 , which is usually what “when did YouTube come out?” refers to.

So if you need one line for a post: YouTube came out (public launch) on December 15, 2005.