YouTube Community Guidelines & Policies

Our Community Guidelines and policies apply to all YouTube content and define what you can and cannot do on YouTube. Rulesandpolicies CommunityGuidelines CommunityGuidelines DevelopingCommunityGuidelines EnforcingCommunityGuidelines Detectingviolations AllowingEDSAcontent Takingactiononviolations Overview YouTubehasalwayshadasetofCommunityGuidelinesthatoutlinewhattypeofcontentisn’tallowedonYouTube.Thesepoliciesapplytoalltypesofcontentonourplatform,includingvideos,comments,links,andthumbnails.OurCommunityGuidelinesareakeypartofourbroadersuiteofpoliciesandareregularlyupdatedinconsultationwithoutsideexpertsandYouTubecreatorstokeeppacewithemergingchallenges. WeenforcetheseCommunityGuidelinesusingacombinationofhumanreviewersandmachinelearning,andapplythemtoeveryoneequally—regardlessofthesubjectorthecreator’sbackground,politicalviewpoint,position,oraffiliation. OurpoliciesaimtomakeYouTubeasafercommunitywhilestillgivingcreatorsthefreedomtoshareabroadrangeofexperiencesandperspectives. WhatareasdoCommunityGuidelinescover? You'llfindafulllistofourCommunityGuidelinesbelow: Spam&deceptivepracticesFakeengagementImpersonationExternallinksSpam,deceptivepractices&scamsPlaylistsAdditionalpoliciesSensitivecontentChildsafetyThumbnailsNudityandsexualcontentSuicideandself-harmVulgarlanguage ViolentordangerouscontentHarassmentandcyberbullyingHarmfulordangerouscontentHatespeechViolentcriminalorganizationsViolentorgraphiccontentRegulatedgoodsFirearmsSaleofillegalorregulatedgoodsorservices MisinformationMisinformationElectionsmisinformationCOVID-19medicalmisinformationVaccinemisinformation InadditiontoCommunityGuidelines,creatorswhowanttomonetizecontentonYouTubemustcomplywithMonetizationPolicies. HowdoesYouTubedevelopnewpoliciesandupdateexistingones? Eachofourpoliciesiscarefullythoughtthroughsotheyareconsistent,well-informed,andcanbeappliedtocontentfromaroundtheworld.They’redevelopedinconsultationwithawiderangeofexternalindustryandpolicyexperts,aswellasYouTubeCreators.Newpoliciesgothroughmultipleroundsoftestingbeforetheygolivetoensureourglobalteamofcontentreviewerscanapplythemaccuratelyandconsistently. Thisworkisneverfinished,andwearealwaysevaluatingourpoliciestounderstandhowwecanbetterstrikeabalancebetweenkeepingtheYouTubecommunityprotectedandgivingeveryoneavoice. HowdoesYouTubeenforceitsCommunityGuidelines? 500hoursofvideoareuploadedtoYouTubeeveryminute.That’salotofcontent,whichiswhyourteamscometogethertomakesurethatwhatyouseeonourplatformfollowsourCommunityGuidelines.Todothat,wecombinethepowerofadvancedmachinelearningsystemsandourcommunityitselftoflagpotentiallyproblematiccontent.OurexpertreviewersthenremoveflaggedcontentthatviolatesourCommunityGuidelines. HowdoesYouTubeidentifycontentthatviolatesCommunityGuidelines? WithhundredsofhoursofnewcontentuploadedtoYouTubeeveryminute,weuseacombinationofpeopleandmachinelearningtodetectproblematiccontentatscale.Machinelearningiswell-suitedtodetectpatterns,whichhelpsustofindcontentsimilartoothercontentwe’vealreadyremoved,evenbeforeit’sviewed. Wealsorecognizethatthebestwaytoquicklyremovecontentistoanticipateproblemsbeforetheyemerge.OurIntelligenceDeskmonitorsthenews,socialmedia,anduserreportstodetectnewtrendssurroundinginappropriatecontent,andworkstomakesureourteamsarepreparedtoaddressthembeforetheycanbecomealargerissue. Isthereawayforthebroadercommunitytoflagharmfulcontent? TheYouTubecommunityalsoplaysanimportantroleinflaggingcontenttheythinkisinappropriate. IfyouseecontentthatyouthinkviolatesCommunityGuidelines,youcanuseourflaggingfeaturetosubmitcontentforreview. WedevelopedtheYouTubeTrustedFlaggerprogramtoproviderobustcontentreportingprocessestonon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs)withexpertiseinapolicyareaandgovernmentagencies.ParticipantsreceivetrainingonYouTubepoliciesandhaveadirectpathofcommunicationwithourTrust&Safetyspecialists.VideosflaggedbyTrustedFlaggersarenotautomaticallyremoved.Theyaresubjecttothesamehumanreviewasvideosflaggedbyanyotheruser,butwemayexpeditereviewbyourteams.NGOsalsoreceiveoccasionalonlinetrainingonYouTubepolicies. HowdoesYouTubetreateducational,documentary,scientific,orartisticcontent? SometimesvideosthatmightotherwiseviolateourCommunityGuidelinesmaybeallowedtostayonYouTubeifthecontentoffersacompellingreasonwithvisiblecontextforviewers.Weoftenrefertothisexceptionas“EDSA,”whichstandsfor“Educational,Documentary,ScientificorArtistic”.TohelpdeterminewhetheravideomightqualifyforanEDSAexception,welookatmultiplefactors,includingthevideotitle,descriptions,andthecontextprovided. EDSAexceptionsareacriticalwaywemakesurethatimportantspeechstaysonYouTube,whileprotectingthewiderYouTubeecosystemfromharmfulcontent. ResourcesReadmoreabouthowwetreatEDSAcontentonYouTube WhatactiondoesYouTubetakeforcontentthatviolatesCommunityGuidelines? Machinelearningsystemshelpusidentifyandremovespamautomatically,aswellasremovere-uploadsofcontentwe’vealreadyreviewedanddeterminedviolatesourpolicies.YouTubetakesactiononotherflaggedvideosafterreviewbytrainedhumanreviewers.Theyassesswhetherthecontentdoesindeedviolateourpolicies,andprotectcontentthathasaneducational,documentary,scientific,orartisticpurpose.Ourreviewerteamsremovecontentthatviolatesourpoliciesandage-restrictcontentthatmaynotbeappropriateforallaudiences.Reviewers'inputsarethenusedtotrainandimprovetheaccuracyofoursystemsatamuchlargerscale. CommunityGuidelinesStrikes IfourreviewersdecidethatcontentviolatesourCommunityGuidelines,weremovethecontentandsendanoticetotheCreator.ThefirsttimeaCreatorviolatesourCommunityGuidelines,theyreceiveawarningwithnopenaltytothechannel.Afteronewarning,we’llissueaCommunityGuidelinesstriketothechannelandtheaccountwillhavetemporaryrestrictionsincludingnotbeingallowedtouploadvideos,livestreams,orstoriesfora1-weekperiod.Channelsthatreceivethreestrikeswithina90-dayperiodwillbeterminated.Channelsthatarededicatedtoviolatingourpoliciesorthathaveasinglecaseofsevereabuseoftheplatform,willbypassourstrikessystemandbeterminated.AllstrikesandterminationscanbeappealediftheCreatorbelievestherewasanerror,andourteamswillre-reviewthedecision. ResourcesLearnmoreaboutCommunityGuidelinesstrikesAppealaCommunityGuidelinesstrike Age-RestrictingContent Sometimescontentdoesn'tviolateourCommunityGuidelines,butmaynotbeappropriateforviewersunder18yearsofage.Inthesecases,ourreviewteamwillplaceanagerestrictiononthevideosoitwillnotbevisibletoviewersunder18yearsofage,logged-outusers,ortothosewhohaveRestrictedModeenabled.Creatorscanalsochoosetoagerestricttheirowncontentatuploadiftheythinkit’snotsuitableforyoungeraudiences. ResourcesLearnmoreaboutage-restrictedcontent Relatedarticles Progressonmanagingharmfulcontent Readmore Managingharmfulcontent Readmore Legalremovals Readmore