Overview

The Community Guidelines have always described what types of content are not allowed on our website. These guidelines apply to all types of content on the platform, including videos, comments, links, and thumbnails. The Community Guidelines are an important part of our comprehensive policies and are regularly evaluated and updated in collaboration with external experts and our creators to keep pace with current challenges.

We use a combination of manual review and machine learning to enforce these Community Guidelines, which apply equally to everyone, regardless of a creator's subject matter or background, political beliefs or affiliation, or position.

Our policies are designed to protect our community while giving creators the freedom to share a wide range of experiences and perspectives. The safety of our creators, viewers, and partners is our highest priority. Everyone can play a role in keeping our vibrant community as safe as possible. The Community Guidelines play a central role in that: they are the foundation of this shared responsibility to keep our website a safe place. That's why it's important that everyone who uses our platform knows and understands these terms. Please take the time to read the guidelines below carefully.

What do the Community Guidelines cover?

Spam and Deceptive Practices

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Content that promotes third-party services designed to artificially increase metrics such as views, and like ratings, or links that point to such services.
• Content that redirects to websites or services that manipulate the number of views or content that promotes such services.
• Content that shows a creator purchasing their views from a third party, where the intent of the content is to promote that service.

These policies apply to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, and all other products and features on our website. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list.

Identity Theft

If your content fits any of the following descriptions, you are not allowed to publish it on our website:

• Your video is pretending to be another video: When your video copies the profile, background, or general design of another video so that it looks like a video created by another creator.
• You pretend to be someone you are not: When your video is intended to give the impression that it was published by someone else.
• If your video is a fan video, you should explicitly state this in the video name or alias. It should be clear to viewers that the content does not originate from the original creator, artist, or entity the video is about.

External Links

Don't post links on our website that direct users to content that violates our Community Guidelines. This includes links to:

• Pornographic content
• Websites or apps that install malware or unwanted software
• Websites that collect login data or payment information from users (phishing)
• Websites that provide unauthorized access to paid content (e.g., illegal streaming)
• Websites promoting terrorist organizations or recruiting members
• Websites with child sexual abuse material
• Websites that spread medical misinformation about COVID-19
• Websites that spread misleading content that may cause harm, including hindering democratic processes
• Manifestos of violent attackers

This list is not exhaustive. These policies apply to all our products and features, including videos, descriptions, comments, and live streams.

Spam, Deceptive Practices, and Fraud

Content that meets one or more of the following criteria may not be published on our website:

• Video spam: This is overly repetitive or untargeted content.
• Misleading metadata or thumbnails: Thumbnails, titles, or descriptions that create false expectations about the content.
• Fraud: Luring users with gifts or money in return for little or no value, or pyramid schemes.
• Incentive spam to generate traffic: Content that promotes exchanging likes, comments, or views in return for likes on another video (e.g., "Sub4Sub").
• Comment spam: Comments used to collect personal information, direct viewers to other websites, or perform prohibited actions.
• Repetitive comments: Leaving identical, untargeted, or repetitive comments.
• Third-party content: Live streams that contain unauthorized third-party content.

Further Guidelines

Posting content that has been removed in the past for violating our Terms of Service, or from creators who are currently restricted or whose account or video has been closed, is considered circumvention under our Terms of Service. Posting such content may result in it being removed, and it may also result in your business video being penalized or closed. The action may also affect other videos you own.

Sensitive Content

Protection of Children

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Sexualization of minors: Sexually explicit content featuring minors and content that sexually exploits minors. This includes nude images of minors that are labeled as comedy. We report child sexual abuse content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which works with law enforcement agencies worldwide on missing and exploited children.
• Harmful or Dangerous Acts Involving Minors: Content that depicts minors engaging in dangerous acts or encourages them to engage in dangerous acts. This includes dangerous stunts, challenges, pranks, and activities such as using firearms unsupervised or consuming harmful substances.
• Emotional Distress to Minor Contributors: Content that is not suitable for minors or depicts emotional distress, simulated abuse, coercion, or violence.

Thumbnails

You should not post thumbnails or images on your video that show:

• Pornographic depictions
• Sexual acts, the use of sex toys, fetishes or other images with the purpose of sexual gratification
• Nudity, including genitals
• Images showing unwanted sexualization
• Depictions of violence intended to shock or disgust
• Cruel or disturbing images with blood or graphic depictions of violence
• Vulgar or lewd language
• Misleading thumbnails that suggest content that is not actually included in the video

Nudity and Pornographic Content

Explicit content that violates these guidelines may result in video closure. The provisions of these guidelines apply to real, dramatized, illustrated and animated content, including sex scenes, video games and music. The following content may not be published on our website:

• Representations of genitals, breasts or buttocks (clothed or unclothed) for sexual gratification.
• Pornography, depictions of sexual acts or fetishes intended for sexual gratification.
• Depiction of masturbation.
• Touching or groping genitals, breasts or buttocks.
• Use of sex toys for the sexual satisfaction of the audience.
• Nudity or partial nudity for the purpose of sexual gratification.
• Non-consensual sexual acts, or the promotion or glorification of non-consensual sexual acts, such as sexual assault, incest, bestiality or zoophilia.
• Unwanted sexualization, such as images shared without consent or voyeuristic behavior.
• Breast flashes or other involuntary revealing glimpses.
• Non-consensual zooming in or repeated deliberate emphasis on the breast, buttocks or genital area for the purpose of sexual gratification.
• Fetish content that glorifies violence, is cruel or humiliating for the purpose of sexual gratification.
• Compilation of content for the purpose of sexual gratification.
• Sexual content involving minors.

Vulgar Language

Objectionable content that violates these guidelines may result in an age restriction, content removal, or warning. When we set an age restriction, remove content, or issue a warning, the following factors are considered:

• Sexually explicit language or depictions
• Content with excessively vulgar language
• Content with strong vulgar language or sexually suggestive terms in the title, thumbnail or metadata
• Excessively sexual audio content

Note: This is not a complete list.

These policies apply to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, audio, and all other products and features of our website. Please note that these are just a few examples. Don't post content if you think it might violate these policies. We may allow profanity if it is primarily for educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic purposes and its context justifies its use.

Violent or Dangerous Content

Harassment and Cyberbullying

The following content may not be published on our website:

• We don't allow content that attacks someone with ongoing insults or vilification based on immutable characteristics. These characteristics include membership in a protected class, physical characteristics, or status as a victim of sexual assault, non-consensually captured or posted intimate images, domestic violence, child abuse, and more.
• Content uploaded with the intent to degrade, deceive, or abuse minors. This means intentionally embarrassing, distressing, or making minors feel worthless, or causing them to behave in a way that may harm themselves or their property, or verbally abusing them. A minor is someone under the age of 18.
• Content that shares nonpublic personally identifiable information (PII), or threatens to publish such information, or encourages others to share it.
• This information includes, but is not limited to, home addresses, email addresses, login details such as a username or password, telephone numbers, ID numbers, medical records and bank details.
• The publication of publicly available information, such as the direct line of an authority or the telephone number of a company, is excluded from this.
• This policy applies to sharing your own PII, the PII of others, and when PII is shared inadvertently.
• The content must make it clear when fake PII is being shared. For example, when fake credentials are being used for training.
• Content that encourages harmful behavior, such as brigading. Brigading is when one person coordinates the assembly of a mob to specifically attack an identifiable person on or off.
• Content that spreads dangerous conspiracy narratives or attacks someone by claiming they are part of a dangerous conspiracy narrative. A dangerous conspiracy narrative is one that has been associated with direct threats or acts of violence.
• Content that threatens an identifiable person or their property. This includes subtle threats that do not specify a time or place, but that involve a weapon, for example.
• Content that depicts a staged encounter designed to accuse an identifiable individual of serious misconduct toward minors without the involvement or presence of law enforcement or enforcement authorities.
• Content that gloats or mocks the death or serious injury of an identifiable person.
• Content that uses realistic simulations to address the circumstances of death or the suffering of deceased minors or victims of well-documented serious violent crimes.
• Content that shows creators simulating serious acts of violence against others, such as executions, torture, mutilations, beatings, etc.
• Content that contains stalking of an identifiable person.
• Content that denies or downplays a person’s role as a victim of a well-documented, serious violent crime.
• Content that contains the unwanted sexualization of an identifiable person.
• Content that describes someone in an obscene, degrading, or sexually explicit manner
• Content that shares or requests intimate images that have not been taken or published consensually, or that explains how to distribute such images
• Content that fantasizes about, threatens, or encourages sexual assault

This applies to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, and all other products and features on our website. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Note: These guidelines also apply to external links in your content. This includes, but is not limited to, clickable URLs, and you may not verbally encourage your viewers to go to other websites in your videos.

Harmful or Dangerous Content

Note: This is not an exhaustive list. If you believe your content may violate these guidelines, please do not post it.

The following content is not allowed on our website:

Harmful or Dangerous Actions, Challenges, and Pranks

• Extremely dangerous challenges: Challenges where there is an immediate risk of injury.
• Dangerous or threatening pranks: Pranks that pose an immediate risk of serious injury to victims or that cause severe emotional distress to minors.
• Harmful or dangerous actions: Actions performed by adults that can result in serious injury or death.
• Minors engaging in dangerous activities: Content that endangers the emotional and physical well-being of minors.

Content Related to Weapons

• Instructions on how to kill or injure: Content that shows viewers how to kill or seriously injure others.
• Explosive devices: Instructions for making explosive devices or explosive mixtures intended to injure or kill other people.
• Firearms

Content that Compromises Digital Security

• Theft Tutorials: Videos that serve as a theft tutorial, aimed at stealing physical goods or obtaining something for free.
• Hacking: Instructions on how to use computers or information technology to steal credentials, compromise personal information, or cause significant harm to others.
• Circumventing payment for digital content or services: Content that demonstrates how viewers can gain unauthorized access to content, software, or services that would normally require a fee.
• Phishing: Content that attempts to deceive viewers into obtaining nonpublic, personally identifiable information.
• Cryptophishing: Requests for cryptocurrencies or details of cryptocurrency-related wallets as part of a phishing attempt.

Hate Speech

Hate speech and incitement are not allowed on our website. We do not allow content that promotes violence or hatred towards individuals or groups because they have a characteristic that is associated with a protected group under our policies:

• Old
• Social class
• Disability
• Ethnic origin
• Gender identity and expression
• Nationality
• Skin color
• Immigration status
• Religion
• Gender
• Sexual orientation
• Victims of serious violent events and their relatives
• Veteran status

If you come across content that violates these guidelines, please Write to us.

Violent Criminal Organizations

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Content created by violent extremist, criminal or terrorist organizations
• Content that commemorates or glorifies known terrorists, extremists or criminals in order to incite others to commit acts of violence
• Content that glorifies or justifies acts of violent extremist, criminal or terrorist organizations
• Content intended to recruit new members for violent extremist, criminal or terrorist organizations
• Content depicting hostage dramas or published with the intent to recruit new members on behalf of criminal, extremist or terrorist organizations or to threaten or intimidate others
• Content that displays the identifying marks, logos or symbols of violent extremist, criminal or terrorist organizations in order to glorify or promote them
• Content that glorifies or promotes violent tragedies such as school shootings

We use many factors to determine whether an organization is "criminal" or "terrorist" including assessments by governmental and international organizations. For example, we will close any video where we have reason to believe that the account holder is a member of a designated terrorist organization. This includes foreign terrorist organizations (as defined by the United States) or organizations designated as terrorist by the United Nations.

If you upload videos with terrorist or criminal content for educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic purposes, be sure to provide enough information in the video or audio to help viewers better understand the content. Grisly or potentially disturbing footage with sufficient context may be subject to age restrictions and warnings.

Violent or Cruel Content

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Incitement to violence against individuals or specific groups
• Fights with minors
• Footage, audio content or images depicting traffic accidents, natural disasters, the aftermath of war, the aftermath of terrorist attacks, street fights, physical attacks, sacrifice, torture, corpses, protests or riots, robberies, medical treatment or other scenarios of this nature intended to cause shock or disgust in viewers
• Footage or images showing bodily fluids such as blood or vomit to cause shock or disgust in viewers
• Depictions of corpses with severe injuries such as severed limbs

Content with Animal Abuse

• Content in which animals are forced to fight by humans
• Content in which a person maliciously mistreats an animal and causes it suffering without any useful background (e.g. hunting or food preparation)
• Content in which a person keeps an animal in poor conditions or mistreats it without any practical background (e.g. hunting or food preparation)
• Content that glorifies or promotes the severe neglect, abuse or injury of animals
• Content that shows a staged animal rescue in which animal welfare is endangered
• Cruel or adult content involving animals intended to shock or disgust

Dramatized or Fictional Content

• Dramatized or fictionalized video footage of content prohibited under these policies without providing appropriate context for viewers

The following types of content are not allowed, even if they have an educational, documentary, scientific or artistic context:

• Violent sexual assault (video, still images or audio content)
• Video recordings of fatal or serious violent crimes filmed by the perpetrator in which weapons, violence or injured people and victims are visible or audible

Note: This is not a complete list. These policies also apply to videos, video descriptions, thumbnails, comments, live streams, and all other products and features on our website. Additionally, these policies apply to external links in your content, including but not limited to clickable URLs and verbal references to other websites in your videos.

In some cases, the types of violent or gruesome content listed above may be allowed in educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic content. However, this is not a free pass to upload content intended to shock, disgust, or incite others to commit violent acts. Additionally, these exceptions do not apply to certain types of content, such as video footage of violent sexual assault. For informational and educational content containing such violent or gruesome depictions, the context must be evident in the images or audio of the video itself. Simply including it in the title or description is not enough.

Goods Subject to Legal Restrictions

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Content created for the purpose of privately selling firearms or certain accessories, as well as content that links to websites that sell such items. Examples of accessories:
• Accessories that can be used to simulate automatic firing
• Accessories that can be used to convert a firearm into a fully automatic weapon, such as rapid-fire stocks, Gatling triggers, attachable auto-sears, or conversion kits
• Magazines and ammunition belts with more than 30 cartridges
• Instructions for making the following items:
• Firearms
• Ammunition
• High-capacity magazines
• Homemade silencers
• Accessories that can be used to simulate automatic firing
• Accessories that can be used to convert a firearm into a fully automatic weapon, such as rapid-fire stocks, Gatling triggers, attachable auto-sears, or conversion kits
• Instructions for converting a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing
• Instructions for attaching the above accessories and modifications
• Instructions on how to remove certain firearm safety devices, such as those that limit the release of a magazine. This does not include the removal of devices used to temporarily disable a weapon, such as a gun lock.

Please note that this is not a complete list.

Age-Restricted Content

Some content does not violate our guidelines but may not be suitable for viewers under 18 years of age:

• Content that shows the use of a homemade firearm (e.g., made using 3D printing), an automatic firearm, or any of the following accessories:
• Accessories that can be used to simulate automatic firing
• Accessories that can be used to convert a firearm into a fully automatic weapon, such as rapid-fire stocks, Gatling triggers, attachable auto-sears, or conversion kits
• High-capacity magazines
• Homemade silencers
• Examples (not a complete list):
• Firing a 3D-printed firearm
• Firing a fully automatic rifle
• Firing a firearm with a high-capacity magazine

These guidelines apply to real-life use of firearms and may not apply to the use of firearms in artistic content such as a film. Exceptions may also be allowed for content of public interest such as military or police footage, news, or footage from war zones.

Sale of Illegal or Legally Restricted Goods and Services

Content intended to link to, directly sell, or provide access to the restricted goods and services listed below may not be posted on our website. Nor may the sale of such items or use of such services be facilitated by posting links, email addresses, phone numbers, or other information by which a provider can be contacted.

• Alcohol
• Passwords for bank accounts, stolen credit cards, or other financial data
• Fake documents or means of payment
• Narcotics and addictive substances
• Explosives and explosive devices
• Organs
• Endangered animal and plant species or parts thereof
• Firearms and certain accessories
• Nicotine products, including e-cigarette products
• Medicines without a prescription
• Sex or escort services
• Unlicensed medical services
• Human trafficking

If you share links or contact information such as phone numbers, email addresses, or other contact information that allows people to purchase medicines without a prescription or hard drugs or certain toxic substances, we may close your video. Examples of these substances are below.

In addition, the following content is not allowed on our website:

• Use or Production of Hard Drugs: The use or production of hard drugs, the sale or facilitation of the sale of hard or soft drugs, the facilitation of the sale of drugs without a prescription that are subject to legal restrictions, or the use of steroids in content without an educational purpose.
• Sale or manufacture of poison: Enabling the sale, dispensing, manufacture, or processing of certain poisons or toxic substances.
• Cheating Instructions: Content that provides instructions on how to cheat in a school or academic setting.

This applies to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, and all other products and features of our website. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. These guidelines also apply to external links in your content, including clickable URLs and when you verbally encourage viewers to go to other websites in your videos.

Misinformation

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Census Participation Prevention: Content that misleads people about the time, place, process, or requirements for taking a census, thereby preventing them from participating. Another variant is false information that can help discourage people from taking a census.
• Manipulated Content: Content that has been technically manipulated or edited in a way (usually beyond video clips taken out of context) that misleads users and creates a serious risk of harm.
• Misdeclared Content: Content that poses a serious risk of significant harm by declaring old videos from a previous event as current.
• False instructions on how to participate in a census.
• Participation in a census is discouraged by claiming that immigration status will then be reported to law enforcement.
• Incorrectly translated video subtitles that exacerbate geopolitical tensions and pose a serious risk of significant harm.
• Technically manipulated videos (usually beyond video clips taken out of context) in which the death of an incumbent is faked.
• Technically manipulated video content (typically beyond video clips taken out of context) that simulates events and poses a serious risk of harm.
• Content that falsely depicts a human rights violation in a particular location, but actually originates from a different location or event.
• Content that shows military action against protesters with the false claim that the footage is from a current event, but is in fact several years old.

Do not post content if you believe it may violate this policy. Additionally, these guidelines also apply to external links in your content. This includes, but is not limited to, clickable URLs and verbal references to other websites in your videos.

Misinformation about Elections

This policy prohibits certain content related to free and fair democratic elections. Do not publish election-related content on our website if that content fits any of the following descriptions:

• Voter Obstruction: Content that attempts to mislead voters about the time, place, or procedure of the election or the requirements for participation in order to prevent them from exercising their right to vote, or other misinformation that may contribute to deterring voters from voting.
• Eligibility of Political Candidates: Content that makes false statements about the eligibility of current political candidates and officeholders. Eligibility criteria are determined by the laws of the country in question and may include aspects such as age, nationality, and health status.
• Incitement to Disrupt Democratic Processes: Content that encourages others to disrupt democratic processes, for example by obstructing or interrupting voting procedures.
• Legitimacy of Elections and Election Results: Content that falsely claims that there has been widespread fraud, irregularities or glitches in particular elections of heads of government in the past, or that the official results of those elections are false or fraudulent.

Please note that this is not a complete list.

Medical Misinformation

We do not allow content that poses a serious risk of harm by spreading medical misinformation that contradicts information from the World Health Organization (WHO) or local health authorities about specific health conditions and substances. This policy covers the following categories:

• Misinformation about disease prevention
• Misinformation about the treatment of diseases

Note: Our medical misinformation policies are subject to change as health authority or WHO recommendations change. Our policies may be delayed in adapting to new health authority/WHO recommendations. Additionally, our policies may not cover all local health authority and WHO recommendations related to specific diseases and substances.

The following content may not be published on our website:

• Misinformation about disease prevention: We do not allow content that contradicts the information provided by health authorities regarding the prevention or transmission of certain health conditions or the safety, effectiveness, or composition of currently approved and administered vaccines.
• Misinformation about disease treatments: We do not allow content that contradicts information provided by health authorities about treatments for certain diseases, including promotion of harmful substances or practices that have not been recognized as safe or effective by local health authorities or the World Health Organization, or that have been shown to cause serious harm.

These guidelines apply to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, and all other products and features of our website. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Additionally, these guidelines apply to external links in your content, including but not limited to clickable URLs and verbal references to other websites in your videos.

Vaccine Misinformation

• Vaccine safety: Content claiming that vaccines cause chronic side effects such as cancer or paralysis, apart from rare side effects recognized by health authorities
• Vaccine effectiveness: Content claiming that vaccines have no effect on disease prevention
• Vaccine ingredients: Content that misrepresents vaccine ingredients
• Content that recommends specific cancer treatments that have not been approved by local health authorities, that have not been classified as safe or effective by the World Health Organization, or that have been shown to be harmful or ineffective
• Content claiming that there is a guaranteed cure for cancer that is not approved
• Content claiming that approved cancer therapies are never effective
• Claims that alternative treatments are safer or more effective than approved cancer therapies
• Content that recommends alternative treatments instead of approved cancer therapies
• Content that contradicts information from the WHO or local health authorities on the safety of chemical and surgical abortions
• Promoting alternative abortion methods instead of chemical or surgical methods that have been deemed safe by health authorities
• Advertising for alternative infant formula instead of breast milk or conventional infant formula

In some cases, content may be allowed even though it violates the misinformation policies described on this page. However, this is not a license to spread misinformation. Additional context may include presenting opposing views from local health authorities or experienced medical professionals. Content may also be intended to condemn or satirize misinformation that violates our policies, in which case it may be allowed. Additional exceptions may apply for content that discusses the results of a specific medical study or shows events in a public space (such as protests or public hearings), as long as the content is not intended to promote misinformation that violates our policies.

We also believe that users should be able to share their own experiences, including personal experiences with things like vaccinations. So, exceptions may apply for content in which creators describe their own experiences or those of family members. At the same time, we recognize that there is a difference between sharing personal experiences and spreading misinformation. For this reason, content or videos with other related policy violations or tendencies to repeatedly spread medical misinformation will continue to be removed.

How we Rates Educational, Documentary, Scientific, and Artistic Content (EDSA)

Our Community Guidelines aim to make our website a safer community. Sometimes, content that would otherwise violate our community guidelines may stay on our website when it has Educational, Documentary, Scientific, or Artistic (EDSA) context. In these cases, the content gets an EDSA exception. This article has tips for how you can add context—more information that informs or educates viewers—to your EDSA content.

Our content reviewers assess whether content gets an EDSA exception on a case-by-case basis. First, we check if there’s a Community Guidelines violation in the content. If there’s a violation, we review if there’s enough context in the content to make an EDSA exception. We review WHAT context is present and WHERE the context is.

The type of context you must include to get an EDSA exception depends on what’s in the content. We make most EDSA exceptions when content has one or more of the following:

• Basic facts about what’s happening in the content: Identify who’s in the content, describe what the content shows or when and where it takes place, or explain why certain content is present.
• Condemnation, opposing views, or satire: Communicate that your content condemns certain claims, includes opposing points of view, or is satirical.
• Discouragement of dangerous behavior: Tell viewers not to imitate what’s in the video.

Certain content isn’t allowed on our website, even if it has context added. Don’t post:

• Child Sexual Abuse Media (CSAM)
• Video, still imagery, or audio of violent physical sexual assaults
• Footage filmed by the perpetrator of a deadly or major violent event that shows weapons, violence, or injured victims
• Unmodified reuploads of content created by or glorifying violent terrorist or criminal organizations
• Instructions on how to self-harm or die by suicide
• Instructions on how to build a bomb that’s meant to injure or kill others
• Instructions on how to manufacture a firearm or prohibited accessories
• Offers of prohibited sales
• Instructions on how to use computers or information technology to compromise personal data or cause serious harm to others
• Content that reveals an individual’s private information, such as their home address, email addresses, sign-in credentials, phone numbers, passport number, or bank account information (doxxing)
• Hardcore pornography
• Spam