Block videos in specific territories

These features are only available to partners who use YouTube Studio Content Manager.

Sometimes you may need to block your videos from being viewable in specific territories. For example, you may own the rights to a video in some territories and need to prevent viewers from outside those territories from viewing your video.

In other cases, you may need to block your video from being viewed in territories where you own the rights to the video. Blocking video views in specific territories is sometimes called "geo-fencing."

Territories where you have ownership

If you own rights to a video only in specific territories, you may want to prevent viewers in those territories from viewing your video.

To block a video in territories where you have ownership, you need to set up an upload policy. Learn how to set up an upload policy.

Upload policies allow you to create a partner-uploaded claim that tells YouTube to block your video in territories of your ownership. You can use the predefined policy to block worldwide or you can create a policy to specify where you want your video blocked.

Territories where you don’t have ownership

If you own rights to a video only in specific territories, you may need to prevent viewers outside of those areas from viewing your video.

To block a video in territories where you don’t have ownership, you need to use the "Block outside ownership" feature. This feature lets you apply a block policy in all territories outside of your ownership, since an upload policy cannot be applied in these territories.

Don't block a video outside of your ownership if other partners own rights to the video in other territories. If you do, the video will be blocked in the other partners' territories. Learn more about managing ownership of an asset.

Block a single video

1. Sign in to Studio Content Manager.
2. From the left menu, select Videos .
3. Click the video you want to block.
4. Select the Rights Management tab.
5. Under the Ownership section, click Specific territories.
6. Choose an option:
   • Own in selected territories: If you own the rights to your video in a few territories, select this option. Then, in the text box, enter the territories where you own the rights to your video. Use a comma (",") to separate each entry.
   • Own everywhere except selected territories: If you own the rights to your video in many territories, select this option. Then, in the text box, enter the territories where you don’t own the rights to your video. Use a comma (",") to separate each entry.
7. Click the checkbox next to Block video outside your territories of ownership.
8. Click SAVE.

If you need to undo blocks you’ve placed in specific territories outside of your ownership, get in touch with our support team for help.