​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 you understand our Community Guidelines, and the role they play in our shared responsibility to keep YouTube safe. Take the time to carefully read the policy below. You can also check out this page for a full list of our guidelines.
Note: On April 18, 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 well-being 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 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 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 organizations 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 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 organizations dedicated to helping those in need in different countries and regions. These are recognized 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 organizations 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) 

(011) 5275-1135 (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
Czech Republic Psychiatrická léčebna Bohnice - Centrum krizové intervence
+420 284 016 666
Canada

Talk Suicide Canada
Parlons Suicide Canada

988
Costa Rica Línea Aquí Estoy +506 2272-3774
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 Center.

Eating disorder support resources

Below is a list of organizations that help individuals with eating disorders. These organizations 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.Keep in mind that this isn't a complete list. Please note these policies also apply to external links in your content. This can include clickable URLs, verbally directing users to other sites in 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 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 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
  • Dramatizations 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 behavior.
  • 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 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 your first time violating our Community Guidelines, you'll likely get a warning with no penalty to your channel. You will have the chance to take a 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 3 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 trainings 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 organizations

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