YouTube is adjusting its profanity rules to allow creators to monetize videos containing swearing, as long as the profanity is limited to the first seven seconds of the video.
In November 2022, YouTube updated its policies, making creators ineligible for ad revenue if swear words appeared within the first 8 to 15 seconds of a video. Following significant criticism, the platform revised its rules again in March 2023, permitting such videos to earn limited ad revenue unless profanity dominated most of the content.
YouTube’s head of monetization, Conor Kavanagh, explained the latest changes in a video announcement. He stated that the previous guidelines were introduced to align with broadcast standards, as advertisers expected a separation between profanity and ads. However, he noted that advertiser expectations have since evolved, and they now have tools to target content based on their preferred profanity levels.
Kavanagh also mentioned that videos using moderate or strong swear words in titles or thumbnails may still face limited monetization.