In December 2022, YouTube updated its advertiser-friendly guidelines to ensure only high-quality content received ad revenue. The guidelines clearly showed YouTube’s stand on profane content and inappropriate language.
The update demonetized many creators on the platform, including those that barely used profanity in their content(other than the “f-word”).
YouTube now admits that its guidelines were stricter than they originally intended.
Youtube has again changed its ad policies to permit mild profanity in the content.
These changes will be effective from March 7, 2022:
- Now, videos that contain moderate profanity(the f-word) will be eligible for green icons, while stronger profanity can result in limited ad revenue.
- Videos that include profanity after the first 7 seconds can now be eligible for green icons, except when profanity is used excessively throughout most of the video.
- Additionally, content with moderate or strong profanity in background music, backing tracks, and intro/outro music will now be able to earn full ad revenue.
- Please note that the use of any profanity in titles and thumbnails will still result in demonetization.
- YouTube is re-reviewing videos that received yellow icons due to the November update, and if they now qualify for green icons, the new monetization status will be reflected in Studio. This re-review will be complete by March 10, 2023.
- Nonetheless, videos may still be demonetized if they violate other Advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
- YouTube encourages creators to share their feedback and continues to improve the clarity of ad-friendly guidelines and make monetization easier for them.
In conclusion, YouTube’s recent changes to its profanity policy demonstrate the platform’s ongoing commitment to improving Advertiser-friendly content guidelines and making monetization more accessible to creators. The changes reflect YouTube’s response to the concerns raised by creators about the strictness of the previous policy.
With these new updates, creators can now include moderate profanity at any time in their videos and earn green icons.
The changes also clarify how profanity in music is treated, allowing creators to earn full ad revenue even when using moderate or strong profanity in background music or intro/outro tracks.
While the use of profanity in titles and thumbnails can still result in demonetization, the re-review of videos that received yellow icons due to the November update will help to resolve issues and reflect the new monetization status.
Overall, YouTube’s continued efforts to improve the clarity of its ad-friendly guidelines and make monetization easier for creators are welcome changes that will benefit everyone on the platform.
