Advertiser-friendly Content Guidelines & Yellow Monetization Icons
To improve the accuracy of our yellow icon decisions and get your videos monetizing faster, we are experimenting with automatically sending videos that receive a “Limited or no ads” rating for an additional review that may be completed by a human.
YouTube understands the importance of accurate monetization decisions. Additional reviews aim to improve the stability and accuracy of monetization assessments, reducing the need for appeals and providing more confidence in your video's monetization status.
How do additional reviews work?
When you upload a video, our system checks it against our advertiser-friendly content guidelines during which you may see a gray 'checking' clock icon. In the majority of cases, this icon will transition to green within minutes. However, if the video is initially assigned a 'Limited or no ads' monetization state (also known as a “yellow icon”), it will automatically be routed for additional reviews and the gray 'checking' clock icon will remain until the review is complete. During this time, you'll also see a message in YouTube Studio indicating 'Additional review.' Most videos will see this process complete within hours, though it may take up to 24 hours.
Even after these additional reviews, you retain the ability to appeal the decision if you disagree. With our additional review process, we have high confidence in the accuracy of our monetization decisions. However, we still want to make sure creators have the option to submit an appeal.
We encourage you to upload your content as “unlisted” or “private” as early as possible, and wait to make it public until the ad suitability review process is complete.
What are the benefits of additional review?
- Higher Confidence in Monetization: More accurate initial monetization decisions leading to greater stability in video ratings.
- Reduced Appeals: Decreased need to manually request additional reviews, saving time and effort.
- Increased Monetization Opportunities: Improved likelihood of fully monetizing your content from the start.
Private Videos
YouTube is dedicated to providing the tools and support you need to create and monetize effectively. Additional reviews represent our commitment to improving the monetization experience for creators. If you have further questions, please reach out to our support team or community forums.
FAQs
Q: Why is YouTube adding additional reviews for ad suitability checks?
A: We know how important it is to be able to monetize a video right after it’s published, when viewership initially peaks. To achieve this with greater accuracy and reduce the frustration of appeals, we're introducing additional reviews for ad suitability checks on upload. This means you'll receive more reliable monetization decisions, minimizing the delays and effort associated with appeals, so you can start earning sooner.
Q: Will I now have to wait 24 hours for a monetization icon? That’s a long time!
A: No. The majority of content we review receives a decision within minutes, and that should not change. What will change is that for a small portion of videos, we will be adding some additional reviews to ensure accuracy. This may take longer for the initial decision, but the aim is to provide a more accurate decision. This can help avoid unnecessary appeals and allow you to monetize your content more quickly. Previously, videos that received a yellow icon would require an appeal to receive an additional review, which extended the time a creator needed to wait for the ability to monetize their video. This update aims to help creators get to an accurate decision on monetization faster, and limit the need for appeals.
Q: What should I do if my video is in the “checking” stage for a long time?
A: Creators do not need to take any action if their video remains in the “checking” stage for up to 24 hours. You will see that the status of your monetization decision remains as “checking” until a final decision is available. Once the decision has been reached, we will notify you via email, and the monetization decision will appear in the content tab in Studio.
Q: Am I going to earn less money if my video is under review for up to 24 hours?
A: The aim of this update is to support creators to monetize faster, with improved accuracy on our monetization decisions. We know how important it is to be able to monetize a video after it’s published, when viewership initially peaks. Previously, videos that received a yellow icon would require an appeal to receive an additional review, which extended the time a creator needed to wait for the ability to monetize their video. This update aims to help creators get to an accurate decision on monetization faster, and limit the need for appeals. As always, we recommend you wait for checks to complete before making your video public in order to maximize your video’s revenue potential.
Q: Why is YouTube reviewing videos with visibility set to “private”? What if I don’t want these videos reviewed for ad suitability?
A: Private videos won’t appear in the Videos tab of your channel homepage, however YouTube systems and human reviewers may review private videos for ad suitability, copyright, and other abuse prevention mechanisms.