Explicit content meant to be sexually gratifying is not allowed on YouTube. Posting pornography may result in content removal or channel termination. Videos containing fetish content will be removed or age restricted. In most cases, violent, graphic or humiliating fetishes are not allowed on YouTube.
If you find content that violates this policy, report it. Instructions for reporting violations of our Community Guidelines are available here. If you've found a few videos or comments that you would like to report, you can report the channel.
Sexually explicit content featuring minors and content that sexually exploits minors is not allowed on YouTube. We report content containing child sexual abuse imagery to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who work with global law enforcement agencies.
What this policy means for you
If you're posting content
Explicit content that violates this policy could result in channel termination. This policy applies to real-world, dramatised, illustrated and animated content, including sex scenes, video games and music.
Don't post content on YouTube if it shows:
- The depiction of clothed or unclothed genitals, breasts or buttocks that are meant for sexual gratification.
- Pornography, the depiction of sexual acts or fetishes that are meant for sexual gratification.
Other types of content that violate this policy
- Masturbation
- Fondling or groping of genitals, breasts or buttocks
- Using sex toys to give viewers sexual gratification
- Nudity or partial nudity that's meant for sexual gratification
- Non-consensual sex acts or the promotion or glorification of non-consensual sex acts, such as sexual assault, incest, bestiality or zoophilia
- Unwanted sexualisation such as non-consensually shared imagery or voyeurism
- Wardrobe accidents or nude photo leaks
- Non-consensual zooming in or prolonged focused or emphasis on the breasts, buttocks or genital area for the purpose of sexual gratification
- Violent, graphic or humiliating fetish content where the purpose is sexual gratification
- Aggregating content that's meant for sexual gratification
- Any sexual content involving minors – see our Child safety on YouTube page for more information
Note: The above list isn't complete.
We may age restrict content if it includes nudity or other sexual content but doesn't depict anything described above. We consider the following when deciding whether to age restrict or remove content.
- Whether clothed or unclothed breasts, buttocks or genitals are the focal point of the video
- Whether the subject is depicted in a pose that is intended to sexually arouse the viewer
- Whether the language used in the video is graphic or lewd
- Whether the subject's actions in the video encourage sexual arousal, such as by touching of breasts or genitals or revealing undergarments
- Whether the clothing would be generally unacceptable in public contexts, such as lingerie
- Whether sexual imagery or audio has been blurred, masked or obscured
- Whether sexual imagery or audio is fleeting or prolonged in the content
- Whether the content invites others to participate in a challenge involving sexual acts
Note: The above list isn't complete.
This policy applies to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams, audio and any other YouTube product or feature. Remember, these are just some examples. Don't post content if you think that it might violate this policy.
Educational content
We may allow sexual content when the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific or artistic and it isn't gratuitous. For example, a documentary on breast cancer that shows nude breasts would be appropriate, but posting clips out of context to sexually gratify from the same documentary is not. Out-of-context nudity in indigenous communities, during medical procedures, during childbirth, during artistic performances or during breastfeeding may not meet our documentary exception.
The same applies to depictions of sex scenes in artistic content such as films, audio stories, music or video games. For example, a film with a sex scene may be allowed if it included details such as the name of the film, director, actors in the video content and in the video description. Remember that giving context in the content, title and description will help us and your viewers determine the primary purpose of the video.
For educational, documentary, scientific or artistic content that has adult material or graphic violence, we may take into account official third-party ratings to decide whether the content may remain on YouTube. Content that follows our policies but isn't appropriate for all audiences is age-restricted. Age-restricted content isn't viewable to anyone who's under 18 years of age or signed out.
Examples
Here are some examples of content that's not allowed on YouTube.
- Clips extracted from non-pornographic films, shows or other content in order to isolate sexual content (real world or artistic)
- Groping, kissing, public masturbation, 'upskirting', voyeurism, predatory exhibitionism, or any other content that depicts someone in a sexualised manner without their consent
- Content that depicts sexual acts, behaviours or sex toys that's meant for sexual gratification
Note: The above are just some examples. If you think content might violate this policy, don't post it.
More examples
- Playlists that aggregate content containing nudity or sexual themes for the purpose of sexual gratification
- Provocative dancing that is focused on the dancer's genitals, buttocks or breasts or that includes fondling or groping
- Content that sexualises rape in any form or content that aggregates clips of dramatised rape scenes
- Audio or textual depictions of sexual acts for the purpose of sexual gratification
- Content showing bodily fluids or excretion, such as urine, for the purpose of sexual gratification
- Content using otherwise everyday objects or scenarios, such as injections or eating, for the purpose of sexual gratification
-
Video game content that has been developed or modified ('modded') for sexual gratification, or focuses on themes of unwanted sexualisation
What happens if content violates this policy
If your content violates this policy, we will remove the content and send you an email to let you know. If we can't verify that a link that you post is safe, we may remove the link. Note that violative URLs posted within the video itself or in the video's metadata may result in the video being removed.
If this is the first time that you've violated our community guidelines, you'll most likely get a warning with no penalty to your channel. You will have the chance to take policy training to allow the warning to expire after 90 days. The 90-day period starts from when the training is completed, not when the warning is issued. However, if the same policy is violated within that 90-day window, the warning will not expire and your channel will be given a strike. If you violate a different policy after completing the training, you will get another warning.
If you get three strikes within 90 days, your channel will be terminated. Learn more about our strikes system.
We may terminate your channel or account for repeated violations of the Community Guidelines or Terms of Service. We may also terminate your channel or account after a single case of severe abuse or when the channel is dedicated to a policy violation. We may prevent repeat offenders from taking policy training in the future. Learn more about channel or account terminations.
If your content contains pornography, we may terminate your channel.