Community Guidelines for user generated content on Search

The Community Guidelines are meant to help protect Google Search users and apply to all content that Search users contribute directly. These guidelines, where applicable, incorporate Google Search's overall content policies.

We want to foster an environment where people can contribute their unique points of view and information on Search. Our Community Guidelines define the types of content and behavior that are not allowed, covering such areas as child safety, dangerous content, hate speech, and spam, among others. The Community Guidelines apply to all user generated content such as text, images, and external links.

In addition to these Community Guidelines, all user generated content on Search must follow the Google Terms of Service and we may remove content if it doesn't follow local laws and regulations. We may use participants’ feedback and other learnings to update these Community Guidelines and improve the user experience.

How content is reviewed

We use a combination of machine-learning algorithms and human reviewers to detect content that doesn’t meet the Community Guidelines, or what's called a “violation.” Content detected by the algorithms is either removed or flagged for additional human review where trained analysts take a closer look. If these methods determine that content doesn’t meet the Community Guidelines, we respond by removing the content or account privileges. We may make exceptions to these policies based on artistic, educational, historical, documentary or scientific considerations, or where there are other substantial benefits to the public. Content that’s removed may still be available on your Search profile and marked as “Removed.” Some removed content is permanently deleted based on the severity of the violation or legal requirements.

In most cases, you’ll be notified if your content is removed or your access to features is restricted. We’ll tell you what was removed or restricted, why, how it impacts you, and what you can do next. For some contributions, if you think your content meets the Community Guidelines, you may be able to appeal. In some cases, multiple or severe violations can lead to feature access restrictions, so try to get familiar with what’s OK to post. It’s important to note that if you delete a removed post, it doesn’t remove any associated violations. Be sure to submit an appeal for eligible violations when you think we made a mistake. We strive to continuously improve our systems and your experience. Learn more about appeals.

Report content

If you see Search user generated content that doesn’t meet the Community Guidelines, or breaks the law, please report it. We appreciate your help in keeping Google Search users safe.

• Report post or profile content that you believe doesn't meet the Community Guidelines. View instructions.
• Report review content that you believe doesn't meet the Community Guidelines. Learn how to report a review.
• Report content that you believe may break the law. View instructions.

What's covered in the Community Guidelines

The following sections list the different types of content and behaviors that aren’t allowed. This includes, but isn't limited to, some of the representative examples shown below:

Account hijacking

Important: If you suspect your account has been hijacked, report a hacked account.

We don’t allow others to access or control accounts or profiles by false means or representation.

Child sexual abuse imagery or exploitation material

We don't allow content or behavior that contains child sexual abuse material or that which appears to victimize, endanger, or otherwise exploit children. Some representative examples of content that violates these policies include:

• Sexually explicit content featuring minors.
• Content that sexualizes minors.
• Content that leads to or promotes child endangerment.

Public Interest content

Content of public interest around civic and medical issues shouldn't contradict well-established or expert consensus support. We also may remove content that can be interpreted as accusations of serious malevolent acts against individuals or groups, where there is a lack of well-established or expert supporting evidence. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that provides inaccurate information about where to vote.
• Content that promotes substances or treatments that present an inherent risk of severe bodily harm or death and is contrary to medical consensus.

Deceptive practices

We don’t allow content or accounts that impersonate any person or organization, misrepresent or hide ownership or primary purpose, or engage in false or coordinated behavior to deceive, defraud, or mislead. This includes, but isn’t limited to misrepresentation or concealment of country of origin, government or political interest group affiliation, directing content to users in another country under false pretenses, or working together in ways that conceal or misrepresent information about relationships or editorial independence. If you suspect that you are being impersonated, submit a claim here. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• A profile that uses someone else's real name, user name, image, brand, logo, or other personal information to trick people into believing the profile owner is that person.
• Setting up a profile using the name and image of a person, and then posting content as if they were posted by that person.
• Coordinated abuse, including clusters of accounts working together, to mislead users.

Fake engagement

We don't allow content that doesn't represent a genuine experience. Some representative examples of content and behaviors that violate this policy include:

• Content that has been incentivized in exchange for payment - including but not limited to money, discounts, free goods and/or services.
• Discouraging or prohibiting negative content, or selectively soliciting positive content from users.
• Content that has been posted from multiple accounts where the only purpose is to boost views or other metrics.

Dangerous content

We don’t allow content that could directly facilitate serious and immediate harm to people or animals. This includes, but isn't limited to, dangerous goods, services or activities, and self-harm, such as mutilation, eating disorders, or drug abuse. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that contains instructions on the manufacturer or assembly of a bomb.
• Content depicting how to complete a challenge that requires ingesting harmful substances.
• Promotional content explaining how to engage in self-harm.

Harassing content

We don’t allow harassment, bullying, or threatening content. This includes, but isn't limited to, content which might single someone out for malicious abuse, threaten someone with serious harm, sexualize someone in an unwanted way, expose private information of someone that could be used to carry out threats, disparage or belittle victims of violence or tragedy, deny an atrocity, or cause harassment in other ways. We also may refer threats of harm and other dangerous situations to law enforcement. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that contains a violent insult or slur based on a person’s characteristics to dehumanize them.
• Content that threatens an identifiable individual or their property, including implicit threats.
• Content that makes a false death claim about a public official.

Hateful content

We don't allow content that promotes or condones violence, promotes discrimination, disparages or has the primary purpose of inciting hatred against a group. This includes, but isn't limited to, targeting on the basis of race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or any other characteristic that's associated with systemic discrimination or marginalization like refugee status, immigration status, caste, the impoverished, and the homeless. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Promotion of hateful supremacism by alleging the superiority of a group over those with protected group status to justify violence.
• Content with hateful imagery or symbols without educational or documentary context.
• Content that praises or glorifies the use of violence against a group based on their protected group status.

Off-topic reviews

We may remove reviews that primarily seek to discuss other topics unrelated to the media itself.

Tip: This guideline applies to reviews only.

Highly personal information

We might remove content with certain personal information that creates significant risks of identity theft, financial fraud, or other specific harms, which include, but aren't limited to, doxxing content, explicit personal images, involuntary fake pornography. If content shows a person under 18, or intimate imagery without necessary consent, report it to us.

Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that includes a phone number, address, or email address.
• Images of unredacted passports or visas.
• Content that contains unwanted sexualization such as non-consensually shared intimate imagery.

Manipulated media

We don't allow audio, video, or image content that's been manipulated to deceive, defraud, or mislead by means of creating a representation of actions or events that didn't take place. This includes if such content would cause a reasonable person to have a fundamentally different understanding or impression, such that it might cause significant harm to groups or individuals, or significantly undermine participation or trust in electoral or civic processes. Images that contain a proper disclosure are still in scope of other Community Guidelines. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content containing a deepfake to make it appear that a government official is dead, without proper disclosures.
• A manipulated screenshot that could inflame geopolitical tensions, without proper disclosures.
• Content that directs users to a website with manipulated videos to fabricate electoral events, without proper disclosures.

Offensive content

We don’t allow users to post content that would reasonably cause another to experience extreme anger, insult, or disrespect. This includes attacking other individuals or groups, content that is clearly and deliberately provocative, and unsubstantiated allegations of unethical behavior or criminal wrongdoing. We do allow content that describes negative experiences in a respectful manner. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that ridicules or calls another person names.
• Content making fun of individuals, amorphous groups, or organizations in a negative or demeaning way.
• Malicious content relating to a personal characteristic - such as someone’s appearance or intelligence.

Policy circumvention

If you continue to engage in actions intended to bypass our Community Guidelines, we'll disable your profile and remove your content. Some representative examples of content that violate this policy include:

• A profile that has been created to engage in previously prohibited behaviors.
• A profile that has been created and is distributing content that has been prohibited on other Google products.
• Using other methods intended to continue distributing content or engaging in a behavior that aims to violate our policies.

Regulated goods

We don’t allow content that primarily facilitates the promotion or sale of regulated goods and services, including: alcohol, gambling, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, fireworks, weapons, or health and medical devices. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that includes contact information to engage in gambling or sports betting.
• Content that glorifies the usage, involvement, or purchase of a regulated substance.
• Content where the purpose is to sell or facilitate the purchase of pharmaceuticals by posting links, email addresses, phone numbers, or other means of contacting the seller.

Sexually explicit content

We don’t allow content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Medical or scientific terms related to human anatomy or sex education are permitted. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that intends to be sexually gratifying, such as the depiction of the use of sex toys for sexual gratification.
• Depiction of clothed or unclothed genitals, breasts, or buttocks that are meant for sexual gratification.
• Depictions of pornography or fetishes meant for sexual gratification.

Spam

We don’t allow spam, which may include unwanted, irrelevant, promotional or commercial content, content that is posted by an automated program, repetitive content, or anything that appears to be a mass solicitation. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content that redirects the user away from the note or profile they are viewing via the inclusion of an external link or other non-targeted language.
• Leaving large amounts of identical, untargeted, or repetitive content.
• Content that redirects users to sites that spread dangerous software, attempt to collect personal information or cause negative impact.

Violent extremist content

We don’t allow content produced by organizations or individuals that use violence against civilians to achieve political, religious, or ideological aims. This includes government-designated terrorist groups and other violent organizations and movements that pose real-world harm to our users. We also don’t allow content that facilitates or promotes the activities of these groups, such as recruiting, sharing materials that could facilitate harm, inciting violence, or celebrating attacks. Content related to violent extremism may be allowed in an educational or documentary context, but enough information must be provided to help people understand the context.

Violent & gory content

We don’t allow violent or gory content that's primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous. This includes graphic depictions of violent acts or incidents that result in extreme injury or death without historical or educational context, exposed internal organs or bones without medical or scientific context, identifiable victims of violent deaths, or animal abuse or killings outside of standard hunting, food processing, or cultural practices. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Content with depictions of torture, immolation, or corpses with serious injuries.
• Content that praises or glorifies serious acts of neglect, abuse, or violence against animals.
• Content about a medical procedure whose content focuses on open wounds and doesn't provide educational information or explanation to viewers.

Vulgar language & profanity

We don’t allow obscenities that are primarily intended to be shocking, sensational, or gratuitous. This includes the use of sexually explicit, hateful, or harassing themes or excessive use of vulgar language. Some representative examples of content that violates this policy include:

• Use of sexually explicit language or narratives.
• Use of excessive profanity in the content.
• Use of hateful or harassing language.

Legal issues

Upon valid request, we may remove content under applicable laws or in response to a court order. For example, we remove content if we receive valid notification under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). We review these requests to ensure that they're well-founded. Learn how to make a Legal Removals Request.