We rely on YouTube community members to report content that they find inappropriate. Reporting content is anonymous, so other users can't tell who made the report.
When something is reported, it's not automatically taken down. Reported content is reviewed along the following guidelines:
- Content that violates our Community Guidelines is removed from YouTube.
- Content that may not be appropriate for all younger audiences may be age-restricted.
How to flag content
YouTube staff review reported videos 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A video can be reported at any time once uploaded to YouTube; it is then reviewed by YouTube staff. If no violations are found by our review team, no amount of reporting will change that and the video will remain on our site.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Below the player for the video that you want to report, click
More.
- In the drop-down menu, choose Report.
- Select the reason that best fits the violation in the video.
- Provide any additional details that may help the review team make their decision, including timestamps or descriptions of the violation.
Report a playlist
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Visit the playlist page.
- If the playlist is currently playing, click on its title at the top right-hand corner of the player to visit the playlist page.
- Click More
below the playlist title.
- Select Report Playlist.
- Click Submit.
Report a thumbnail
- Go to the thumbnail that you'd like to report.
- Below the thumbnail, click More
.
- Click Report.
- Select the reason for reporting.
- Click Report.
Report a link
- Select More
Report.
- Select the policy that the link violates.
- Tick the box next to 'This applies to links within the video description'.
The 'Report spam or abuse' link allows the community to report spam comments left on videos that they upload or watch. If enough users mark a comment as spam, it becomes hidden under a 'Marked as Spam' link. By clicking 'Show link', you can see the comment again. The video's uploader has the ability to 'unmark' a comment as spam.
- Go to the comment that you'd like to report.
- Click More
.
- Click Report spam or abuse.
- Select the reason for reporting.
Use the 'Report spam or abuse' feature with extreme caution. If you misuse it, you may be prohibited from using YouTube.
My comment has been incorrectly marked as spam
If a comment that you made has been marked as spam but you don't believe it to be, you can contact the video's uploader and ask them to reinstate your comment.
Community members can report inappropriate messages left on live streams.
- Go to the message that you'd like to report.
- Click More
.
- Click Report.
- Select the reason for reporting.
You can report users, inappropriate background images or inappropriate profile avatars using the reporting flow located on the bottom of every channel.
- Sign in to YouTube.
- Go to the channel page that you want to report.
- Click About.
- Click the Report
.
- Select the option that best suits your issue.
Flag content on YouTube on TV
You can report a video directly from the YouTube on TV app.
- Select Report on the video player menu.
- A menu will appear to select the reason for reporting the video.
- Once you've selected the reason, you'll see a confirmation message.
Other reporting options
If the flagging process does not accurately capture your issue, we have a number of additional reporting mechanisms for you to use.
Privacy reporting
- Go to the watch page of the video that you'd like to report.
- Under the video, click the three dot menu.
- Click Report.
- Select 'Infringes my rights'.
- Select the relevant issue. If your issue isn't captured, select 'Other legal claim'.
- Fill in the form and submit.