Extending Protections to More US-Based Teens
Announcement
Hi everyone,
Starting August 13, 2025, we’ll begin rolling out an age estimation model to determine if a US-based user is under the age of 18. This will happen regardless of the birthdate you entered when creating your account. We’ll then use that to extend age-appropriate product experiences and protections to more teens (like enabling digital wellbeing tools and only showing non-personalized ads).
These protections for teens are not new – we now have enhanced technology to more accurately determine whether or not a user is under 18 and are now able to extend these protections to more teenagers. We’ve used this approach in other markets for some time, where it is working well and we are now gradually rolling it out to the US.
How does it work?
The age estimation model uses a variety of signals such as YouTube activity and longevity of the account. If we determine you’re under 18, you’ll be notified. As always, you’ll have the option to verify your age (through government ID, selfie, or a credit card) if you believe our age estimation model is incorrect.
What does this mean for viewers?
If we determine that a user is under 18, standard protections for teen accounts on YouTube will automatically be enabled. These protections are already applied for users who tell us they are under 18 when making their account, such as:
Showing only non-personalized ads
Enabling digital wellbeing tools by default. This includes “take a break” and bedtime reminders.
Showing reminders about privacy when uploading a video or commenting publicly
Minimizing recommendations of videos with content that could be problematic if viewed in repetition
As a reminder, you must be 18 or older to watch age-restricted videos (determined by us or verified by you).
What does this mean for creators?
Based on our age estimation model, we’ll apply some additional protections including:
Setting uploads as private by default for anyone
Restricting the ability to earn from gifts on vertical live streams
Some creators may experience a shift in their audience categorized as teens (under 1

. This may result in a decrease in ad revenue since we only serve non-personalized ads to those viewers. We estimate this will have limited impact for most creators. We’re committed to supporting creators and as always, we're investing in new solutions to help give creators more ways to grow their community and make money on YouTube.
Note: Audience reports in YouTube Analytics are currently based on the age provided by the user. We are working to update this soon. Subscribe to this forum to stay updated.
This work is fundamental to how YouTube safeguards our users, and we’ll continue to invest to protect their ability to explore safely online.
TeamYouTube