If you create content for YouTube
it's important to understand our Community Guidelines.
Common-sense rules that anyone using YouTube needs to follow
to keep their videos and account in good standing.
If these aren't followed, content may be flagged by the community
and after review, could be removed, age-gated
or possibly have features restricted on that channel.
All content posted to YouTube is subject to our Community Guidelines.
Thumbnails, titles, and even comments in chat.
We do understand it can be frustrating when an action is taken on one of your videos
and you aren't sure why.
In this video, we'll walk you through the guidelines
so that you have a better understanding of what is and isn't okay on YouTube.
So let's get started.
First of all, YouTube generally doesn't allow nudity
or sexual content, including pornography.
But videos that discuss sexuality from an education, documentary, scientific
or artistic perspective, may be the exceptions to the rule.
If your video fits into one of these categories
call it out clearly in the video and in the metadata
so people can better understand the context of the video.
Racy videos that might not go against our guidelines
like a dance performance where the costume shows some nudity
may get age-restricted, but not necessarily taken down.
Don't post harmful or dangerous content.
So no videos encouraging others, especially kids
to do things that could hurt them
or your videos will be age-restricted or removed.
But a video that teaches people how to do karate, for example, is okay.
Remember, context is important.
Next up is no violent or graphic content please.
So gory videos that are shocking or show gratuitous violence
are not allowed on YouTube.
If you're making news or documentary videos that show violent or graphic content
always provide a description in the video and its metadata
to help people understand it's for informational purposes.
YouTube does not allow any form of child endangerment or sexualization
on the platform.
We work closely with expert organizations
who will report child exploitation to the right law-enforcement authorities.
Respect copyright, and only upload videos you made and own the rights to.
Don't use anything someone else owns, unless you have their permission
or it falls under fair use.
Check out the Copyright Center for more details.
And if you need great music
try the YouTube Audio Library, where all the tracks are free.
Do not post any hateful content, or make hateful comments.
But what is hateful content?
Well, it's anything that incites violence against people
based on race or ethnicity
or things like gender, age, or sexual orientation.
YouTube supports freedom of speech
but it's not okay ever to post videos
that could provoke hatred towards a specific group of people
or incite violence.
And any threats like predatory behavior, stalking, or intimidation aren't acceptable.
Anyone caught doing these things may be permanently removed from YouTube.
Don't post videos that harass or cyber-bully anyone.
If you post malicious videos or comments on YouTube
these can be reported and removed.
Remember, there's a person behind every video and comment.
Please respect privacy.
Don't post anybody's private information on YouTube anywhere.
If someone has posted your personal information
or uploaded a video of you without your consent
you can request to have the content removed.
And think carefully before you share any of your personal information on YouTube.
And when you film, get permission from everyone you're recording.
At YouTube, we're all about keeping it real.
So accounts that are established to impersonate another channel or individual
may be removed under our impersonation policy.
And finally, spam.
Writing misleading descriptions, tags, titles, or thumbnails
to increase views, is not allowed.
Don't post or comment large amounts of untargeted, unwanted, or repetitive content.
Nobody likes scams or scammers.
The Community Guidelines help protect our vibrant YouTube ecosystem.
So, whether you're a new creator or you've been doing this for a while
be sure to follow these guidelines and help keep us all safe.
And for a full listing of all policies
and to see what you can do if one of your videos gets flagged
check out the links in the description, which will take you to our Help Center.