In November 2019, YouTube started asking every creator to mark their channel or videos as made for kids or not made for kids. The change comes from the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and a settlement between YouTube, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New York Attorney General. The setting is still required in YouTube Studio today, and it affects your ads, comments and other features. Below I show you how to set it, what counts as made for kids, and the email YouTube sent to creators.
In this article
How to set your channel audience in YouTube Studio
- Sign in to studio.youtube.com on a computer.
- On the left menu, click Settings.
- Click Channel.
- Open the Advanced settings tab.
- Under Audience, select one of these options:
- Yes, set this channel as made for kids. I mostly upload content that’s made for kids.
- No, set this channel as not made for kids. I almost never upload content that’s made for kids.
- I want to review this setting for every video.
- Click Save.
Note: in 2019 the first two options said “I always upload” and “I never upload”. YouTube has since changed the wording to “I mostly upload” and “I almost never upload”, but the setting works the same way.
Set the audience for a single video
If only some of your videos are for kids, choose I want to review this setting for every video. Then, when you upload a video, scroll to the Audience section in the video details and select Yes, it’s made for kids or No, it’s not made for kids.
Change the audience of videos you already uploaded
- In YouTube Studio, click Content on the left menu.
- Tick the boxes next to the videos you want to change. The box next to Video at the top selects all of them.
- Click Edit > Audience and choose the right option.
- Click Update videos.
How to know if your content is made for kids
Regardless of your location, YouTube requires you to tell it whether or not your videos are made for kids. YouTube made these changes according to an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and to help you comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and other applicable laws. If you do not set your content correctly, you may face consequences on YouTube or legal consequences under COPPA and other laws.
YouTube gives some guidance on what is considered “made for kids”, but it cannot provide legal advice. If you are unsure whether your videos meet this standard, YouTube suggests that you ask a lawyer.
According to the FTC’s guidance on COPPA, a video is child-directed (YouTube calls it “made for kids”) if:
- Children are the primary audience, based on the factors described below.
- Children are not the primary audience, but the video is still directed to children based on the factors below.
When you decide whether your channel or video is made for kids, consider these factors:
- The subject matter of the video (for example, educational content for preschoolers).
- Whether children are your intended or actual audience for the video.
- Whether the video includes child actors or models.
- Whether the video includes characters, celebrities or toys that appeal to children, including animated characters or cartoon figures.
- Whether the language of the video is intended for children to understand.
- Whether the video includes activities that appeal to children, such as play-acting, simple songs or games, or early education.
- Whether the video includes songs, stories or poems for children.
- Any other information that helps you determine your video’s audience, like real data about who watches the video.
Note: YouTube Analytics is not designed to tell you if your content is child-directed. Use the FTC factors above to set your audience.
How old is a kid? In the United States, a “kid” is anyone under the age of 13. The age may be higher in other countries, so apply the factors above based on how your local laws define a child, and ask a lawyer if you have more questions.
What changes when a video is set as made for kids
Since January 2020, YouTube limits the data it collects on made for kids content. This means some features are turned off on those videos, including:
- Personalized ads, which lowers the revenue for creators who make content for kids.
- Comments and notifications.
- Cards and end screens.
- Save to playlist, Save to Watch Later and playback in the miniplayer.
- Channel memberships, live chat, Super Chat and Super Stickers.
YouTube keeps the full and current list on its help page about watching made for kids content.
The email YouTube sent to creators (November 2019)
This is the email I received from YouTube Creators when the change started:
Hi Tips 2 Fix,
Important changes that may impact your monetization and content discoverability are coming.
Starting today, all creators are required to tell us if their content is made for kids in order to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and/or other applicable laws. To help you comply, we are introducing a new audience setting in YouTube Studio.
Depending on the amount of made for kids content on your channel, you can set your audience at either the channel level or the video level. For those who are setting at the channel level, it is just one click.
We know that these changes won’t be easy for some creators, and that this required change is going to take some time getting used to. But these are important steps to take to ensure compliance with the law.
Please read more below to understand your legal obligations and the impact these choices may have on your channel.
What is changing?
Starting today, all creators are required to mark their content as made for kids or not made for kids in YouTube Studio.
Starting in January: we will limit the data we collect on made for kids content to comply with the law. This means we will disable personalized ads on this content (which affects revenue for creators making content for kids), as well as certain features like comments, notifications and others. Note: You may see some small changes as we experiment and refine our systems over the next few months.
For a list of affected features, go here.
Why is this happening?
These changes are required as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and NY Attorney General, and will help you comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and/or other applicable laws.
Regardless of your location, we are required to ask you to set your videos as made for kids if they fall into that category, please make these settings as soon as possible.
We’ll also use machine learning systems to help us find content that is clearly made for kids. But do not rely on our systems to set content for you. Like all automated systems, ours are not perfect.
If you don’t set your content or if we detect error or abuse, we may set your audience for you. If you fail to set your content accurately you may face compliance issues with the FTC or other authorities, and we may take action on your YouTube account.
What is “made for kids” content?
We cannot provide specific legal advice, but according to the FTC’s guidance on COPPA, a video is child directed (which we call “made for kids“) if:
- It is directed to children as the primary audience (e.g. videos for preschoolers).
- It is directed to children but children are a secondary audience (e.g. cartoon video that primarily targets teenagers but is also intended for younger kids).
Learn more about the factors that determine if your content is considered as made for kids here.
We know this won’t be easy for some creators, and that this required change is going to take some getting used to. While we cannot provide legal advice, we are committed to helping you through this transition.
You can learn more about your own obligations under The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the tools we are building to support you here.
The YouTube Team
Watch YouTube’s official explanation
YouTube Creators also published this video about complying with COPPA:
You can read the full rules on the FTC’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) page.
Are you a creator outside the US? Read my guide on how to fill in your AdSense tax info for YouTube earnings.
