​Suicide, self-harm and eating disorders policy

The safety of our creators, viewers and partners is our highest priority. We look to each of you to help us protect this unique and vibrant community. It's important that you understand our Community Guidelines and the role that they play in our shared responsibility to keep YouTube safe. Take the time to carefully read the policy below. You can also take a look at this page for a full list of our guidelines.

Note: On 18 April 2023, we updated our eating disorders policy to better protect the community from sensitive content that may pose a risk to some audiences. We may remove imitable content, age restrict content or show a crisis resource panel on videos about eating disorders or self-harm topics. The below policy is updated with these changes. You can learn more about our approach in this blog post.

At YouTube, we take the health and wellbeing of all our creators and viewers seriously. Awareness and understanding of mental health is important and we support creators sharing their stories, such as posting content discussing their experiences with depression, self-harm, eating disorders or other mental health issues.

However, we do not allow content on YouTube that promotes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, that is intended to shock or disgust, or that poses a considerable risk to viewers.

What to do if you find this content

If you believe that someone is in danger:

• Get in touch with local emergency services for help
• Flag the video to bring it to our attention

If you find yourself being negatively affected by any mental health, suicide, self-harm or eating-disorder-related content that you come across, know that there is support available and you're not alone. In the next section, you can find a list of resources and contact information for organisations that can offer advice.

For general guidance on how to talk to someone who you may be concerned about, contact local helplines.

What to do if you need support

If you are depressed, having thoughts of suicide, self-harming or experiencing an eating disorder, know that there is help and you're not alone. While coping with painful emotions, many people might experience these issues. Talking to a mental health care provider can help determine if you have a mental illness that requires care. It can also help you identify healthy, effective coping strategies and develop skills to manage difficult feelings.

Suicide and self-harm support resources

Below is a list of organisations dedicated to helping those in need in different countries and regions. These are recognised crisis service partners. Partnerships vary by country/region.

The websites findahelpline.com and www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines could help you find organisations for regions not listed here.

Australia	Lifeline Australia	13 11 14
Argentina	Centro de Asistencia al Suicida – Buenos Aires	135 (desde Capital y Gran Buenos Aires)  [phone] (desde todo el país)
Brazil	Centro de Valorização da Vida	188
Belgium	Centre de Prévention du Suicide / Centrum ter Preventie van Zelfdoding vzw	0800 32 123 1813
Belgium	Community Help Service	32 2 648 4014
Bulgaria	Български Червен Кръст	02 492 30 30
Czechia	Psychiatrická léčebna Bohnice – Centrum krizové intervence	[phone]
Canada	Talk Suicide Canada Parlons Suicide Canada	988
Costa Rica	Línea Aquí Estoy	[phone]
Denmark	Livslinien	70201201
France	S.O.S Amitié	09 72 39 40 50
Finland	Suomen Mielenterveysseura / Kansallinen kriisipuhelin	09-2525-0111
Germany	TelefonSeelsorge	0800 111 01 11 0800 111 02 22 116 123
Greece	ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ	1018
Hong Kong	香港撒瑪利亞防止自殺會	2389 2222
Hungary	S.O.S. Telefonos Lelki Elsősegély Szolgálat	06 1 116-123
India	iCALL	091529 87821
Ireland	Samaritans	116 123
Israel	ער"ן - עזרה ראשונה נפשית	1201
Italy	Samaritans Onlus	800 86 00 22
Japan	こころの健康相談統一ダイヤル	0570-064-556
New Zealand	Lifeline New Zealand	0800 543 354
Netherlands	Stichting 113Online	0900-0113
Norway	Mental Helse	116 123
Pakistan	Umang Mental Health Helpline	03117786264
Peru	Ministerio de Salud	113
Russia	Фонд поддержки детей, находящихся в трудной жизненной ситуации	8-800-2000-122
Singapore	Samaritans of Singapore	1800-221-4444 1767
Spain	Telèfon de l'Esperança de Barcelona Teléfono de la Esperanza	93 414 48 48 717 003 717
South Korea	보건복지부 자살예방상담전화	109
Switzerland	Die Dargebotene Hand La Main Tendue Telefono Amico	143
Taiwan	生命線協談專線	1995
Thailand	กรมสุขภาพจิต กระทรวงสาธารณสุข	1323
United Kingdom	Samaritans	116 123
United States of America	Suicide & Crisis Lifeline	988/Chat

To read tips and watch videos that can help you feel safer on YouTube, visit the Creator Safety Centre.

Eating disorder support resources

Below is a list of organisations that help individuals with eating disorders. These organisations are mental health support partners. Partnerships vary by country/region.

Australia	Butterfly Foundation	1800 33 4673
Brazil	Centro de Valorização da Vida	188
Canada	National Eating Disorder Information Centre	18666334220
Canada	Anorexie et Boulimie Québec	18006300907
France	Fédération Française Anorexie Boulimie	09 69 325 900
Germany	BZgA – Essstörungen.de
India	Vandrevala Foundation	91 9999 666 555
Japan	摂食障害相談ほっとライン	0477108869
Mexico	Línea de la Vida	8009112000
South Korea	국립정신건강센터	15770199
United Kingdom	Beat Eating Disorders	0808 801 0677 England
		0808 801 0432 Scotland
		0808 801 0433 Wales
		0808 801 0434 N. Ireland
United States of America	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration	1-800-662-4357

Community Guidelines for posting suicide, self-harm or eating-disorder-related content

YouTube users should not be afraid to speak openly about the topics of mental health, suicide, self-harm and eating disorders in a supportive and non-harmful way.

However, there are times when content is created that is sensitive and may pose a risk for some users. When you create content that contains suicide, self-harm or eating-disorder-related topics, take into account the possible negative impact of your content on other users, especially minors and users who may be sensitive to this content.

To protect and support your viewers and other users, please follow the Community Guidelines below when creating content related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. Not following these Community Guidelines may result in a strike, removal of your content or other restrictions to protect users. Learn more.

This Community Guidelines policy applies to videos, video descriptions, comments, live streams and any other YouTube product or feature. Bear in mind that this isn't a complete list. Please note that these policies also apply to external links in your content. This can include clickable URLs and verbally directing users to other sites in the video, as well as other forms.

Don't post the following content:

• Content promoting or glorifying suicide, self-harm or eating disorders
• Instructions on how to die by suicide, engage in self-harm or engage in eating disorders (including how to conceal them)
• Content related to suicide, self-harm or eating disorders that is targeted at minors
• Graphic images of self-harm
• Visuals of bodies of suicide victims unless blurred or covered so that they are fully obscured
• Videos showing the lead-up to a suicide, or suicide attempts and suicide rescue footage without sufficient context
• Content showing participation in or instructions for suicide and self-harm challenges (e.g. Blue Whale or Momo challenges)
• Suicide notes or letters without sufficient context
• Content that features weight-based bullying in the context of eating disorders

In some cases we may restrict, rather than remove, suicide, self-harm or eating disorder content if it meets one or more of the following criteria (for example, by placing an age restriction, a warning or a crisis resource panel on the video). Please note that this is not a complete list:

• Content that is meant to be educational, documentary, scientific or artistic
• Content that is of public interest
• Graphic content that is sufficiently blurred
• Dramatisations or scripted content, which includes but is not limited to animations, video games, music videos and clips from movies and shows
• Detailed discussion of suicide or self-harm methods, locations and hotspots
• Graphic descriptions of self-harm or suicide
• Eating disorder recovery content that includes details which may be triggering to at-risk viewers

Best practices for creators posting content about suicide, self-harm or eating disorders

We recommend using these best practices in content related to suicide or self-harm to protect your viewers from harm and distress:

• Avoid showing the person who died by suicide, and respect their and their families' privacy. Learn more.
• Use wording that is positive and supportive, and focuses on recovery, prevention and stories of hope.
• Include information and resources for suicide and self-harm prevention and coping strategies. Try to include it in both the video itself and the description of the video.
• Do not use sensationalist language or dramatic visuals.
• Provide context but avoid discussing how the victim died by suicide. Do not mention the methods or locations.
• Blur content that contains images of suicide victims. You can blur your video with the Editor in YouTube Studio. Learn more.

We recommend using these best practices in content related to eating disorders to protect your viewers from harm and distress:

• Focus on the impact of the disorder instead of the details of the disordered eating behaviour.
• Tell your audience that eating disorders commonly cause severe complications.
• Include info and resources for eating disorder prevention and coping strategies. Try to include it in both the video itself and the description of the video.

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.

Finally, we may also limit your access to live streaming if you suggest that you'll live stream content that will violate our Community Guidelines. Learn more about restrictions on live streaming.

Warnings and supportive resources

YouTube may show features or resources to users when content contains suicide or self-harm topics. For example:

• A warning on your video before it starts playing, indicating that it contains content relating to suicide and self-harm
• A panel under the video containing supportive resources such as phone numbers of suicide prevention organisations