Age-restricted content

Sometimes content doesn't violate our Community Guidelines, but it may be incompatible with YouTube's Terms of Service or not appropriate for viewers under 18. In these cases, we may place an age restriction on the video. This policy applies to videos, video descriptions, custom thumbnails, live streams and any other YouTube product or feature.

Learn more about age restrictions

Below you'll find more detail about the types of content that we consider for age restriction. If your content contains one or more of these themes, we may age restrict. We've given examples of content that may be age restricted below. Click through the policy sections for examples that illustrate these themes. Bear in mind that this isn't a complete list.

	Child safety A video containing adults participating in dangerous activities that minors could easily imitate, such as handling explosives or challenges that cause bodily injury A video meant for adult audiences but that could easily be confused with family content Note: Your 'Made for Kids' settings won't impact age restrictions on your videos.
	Harmful or dangerous activities, including regulated substances and drugs A video about fake harmful pranks that seems so real that viewers can't tell the difference A video promoting a cannabis dispensary
	Nudity and sexually suggestive content A video that invites sexual activity, such as provocative dancing or fondling A video where the subject is in a pose that is intended to sexually arouse the viewer A video where the subject is in clothing that is considered unacceptable in public contexts, such as lingerie
	Violent or graphic content A video with context showing survivors' injuries in a major road accident A video focused on violent or gory imagery, such as focusing solely on the most graphically violent part of a film or video game
	Vulgar language A video with heavy profanity in the title, thumbnail or associated metadata A video focused on the use of profanities such as a compilation or clips taken out of context

What happens if content is age restricted?

• Age-restricted videos are not viewable to users who are under 18 years of age or signed out.
• Age-restricted videos cannot be watched on most third-party websites. If a video on another website has an age restriction, the viewer will be taken to YouTube. To watch it, they'll need to sign in and be over 18.
  • This process is to make sure that videos hosted by YouTube will only be viewable by the appropriate audience.
• If you believe that we made a mistake, you can appeal the age restriction.
• Age-restricted videos can use ads to monetise. Some advertisers prefer to advertise on family-friendly content or content without the themes noted above. In this case, your video may have limited or no ads monetisation. If your channel is eligible for ads, make sure that you review our advertiser-friendly content guidelines.

Check if your content is age restricted

• You can check if your content is age restricted by going to YouTube Studio and using the 'Age restriction' filter or by looking for 'Age restriction' in the restrictions column on your videos page. Our systems are constantly being updated and if we find any discrepancies with your rating, there's a chance it could change.
• Viewers who are over 18 and are signed in can tell whether a video is age restricted by looking below the description. Learn more about watching age-restricted videos.