Age Restriction YouTube

What is age restriction on YouTube?

Age restriction on YouTube is a label that limits a video to signed-in viewers aged 18 and over. YouTube applies it to content that does not break the Community Guidelines but is not suitable for younger viewers. The policy covers videos, descriptions, custom thumbnails, live streams and any other YouTube product or feature.

Why age restriction matters for creators

An age-restricted video loses a large part of its potential audience. Viewers who are signed out or under 18 cannot watch it, and it cannot play on most third-party websites — anyone who clicks it there is sent back to YouTube and has to sign in and be over 18.

The video can still run ads, but many advertisers prefer family-friendly content, so it may end up with limited ads or none at all. That makes age restriction a direct monetization issue, not only a reach issue. If your channel runs ads, check the advertiser-friendly content guidelines as well.

One thing that catches people out: your made for kids setting has no effect on age restriction. The two systems work independently.

What YouTube considers for age restriction

YouTube names 5 themes it reviews when deciding whether to age-restrict a video:

• Child safety — for example, adults doing dangerous things minors could copy, or adult content that looks like family content.

• Harmful or dangerous activities, including regulated substances and drugs — for example, fake harmful pranks viewers cannot tell from real ones, or promotion of a cannabis dispensary.

• Nudity and sexually suggestive content — for example, provocative dancing, poses intended to arouse, or clothing unacceptable in public contexts.

• Violent or graphic content — for example, a focus on gory imagery, or footage showing survivors' injuries after a major accident.

• Vulgar language — for example, heavy profanity in the title, thumbnail or metadata, or a video built around swearing out of context. The rules here have shifted over time; we broke down the latest state in our post on profanity and monetization.

YouTube says these examples are not a complete list, so read the full age-restricted content policy before you publish anything borderline.

How to check, set and appeal an age restriction

Check your videos

Open the Content page in YouTube Studio and use the Age restriction filter, or look for the Viewable by 18+ label under Notices. Ratings can change, because YouTube's systems are updated continuously.

Restrict a video yourself

While uploading, or when editing an existing video, open Audience, then Age restriction (advanced) and choose Yes, restrict my videos to viewers over 18. A self-imposed restriction is not the result of a YouTube review, and it does not protect you from one: if YouTube decides the video should be restricted, a permanent age restriction is applied on top. Never use this setting on a video meant to run as an ad — the ads will be permanently disapproved. See the official steps for each surface.

Appeal a restriction

If you think YouTube got it wrong, open the video on the Content page in YouTube Studio, review the issue, pick the relevant claim, write your reason and submit it. The YouTube team reviews the request and acts if appropriate. Full instructions are in the appeal guide.