Policies - YouTube

Here are some common-sense rules that'll help you steer clear of trouble. Please take these rules seriously and take them to heart. Don't try to look for loopholes or try to lawyer your way around the guidelines—just understand them and try to respect the spirit in which they were created.

Nudity or sexual content

YouTube is not for pornography or sexually explicit content. If this describes your video, even if it's a video of yourself, don't post it on YouTube. Also, be advised that we work closely with law enforcement and we report child exploitation. Learn more

Harmful or dangerous content

Don't post videos that encourage others to do things that might cause them to get badly hurt, especially kids. Videos showing such harmful or dangerous acts may get age-restricted or removed depending on their severity. Learn more

Hateful content

Our products are platforms for free expression. But we don't support content that promotes or condones violence against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity, or whose primary purpose is inciting hatred on the basis of these core characteristics. This can be a delicate balancing act, but if the primary purpose is to attack a protected group, the content crosses the line. Learn more

Violent or graphic content

It's not okay to post violent or gory content that's primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous. If posting graphic content in a news or documentary context, please be mindful to provide enough information to help people understand what's going on in the video. Don't encourage others to commit specific acts of violence. Learn more

Harassment and cyberbullying

It’s not ok to post abusive videos and comments on YouTube. If harassment crosses the line into a malicious attack it can be reported and may be removed. In other cases, users may be mildly annoying or petty and should be ignored. Learn more

Spam, misleading metadata, and scams

Everyone hates spam. Don't create misleading descriptions, tags, titles, or thumbnails in order to increase views. It's not okay to post large amounts of untargeted, unwanted or repetitive content, including comments and private messages. Learn more

Threats

Things like predatory behavior, stalking, threats, harassment, intimidation, invading privacy, revealing other people's personal information, and inciting others to commit violent acts or to violate the Terms of Use are taken very seriously. Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently banned from YouTube. Learn more

Copyright

Respect copyright. Only upload videos that you made or that you're authorized to use. This means don't upload videos you didn't make, or use content in your videos that someone else owns the copyright to, such as music tracks, snippets of copyrighted programs, or videos made by other users, without necessary authorizations. Visit our Copyright Center for more information. Learn more

Privacy

If someone has posted your personal information or uploaded a video of you without your consent, you can request removal of content based on our Privacy Guidelines. Learn more

Impersonation

Accounts that are established to impersonate another channel or individual may be removed under our impersonation policy. Learn more

Child Safety

Learn about how we protect minors in the YouTube ecosystem. Also, be advised that we work closely with law enforcement and we report child endangerment. Learn more

Additional policies

Additional policies on a range of subjects. Learn more

If a YouTube creator’s on- and/or off-platform behavior harms our users, community or ecosystem, we may respond based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the egregiousness of their actions and whether a pattern of harmful behavior exists.
Our response will range from suspending a creator’s privileges to account termination.

Your safety is important to us. Learn more about YouTube tools and resources, and get tips on many topics below.

Teen safety

Here are some useful tools and friendly tips for staying safe on YouTube. Learn more

Restricted mode

Screen out potentially objectionable content that you or your family may not want see. Learn more

Suicide and self-injury

You’re not alone. Need support? For free, confidential 24/7 support in the US, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255. Learn more