YouTube Made for Kids: What It Changes for Creators

Most creators meet this setting as one more question in the upload form, and the answer has legal weight. This guide sets out what YouTube Help says the setting is, how to decide, what changes when you choose yes, how it touches earning, and what public data shows about how often it is used. It is general information and not legal advice, and the responsibility for the answer stays with the creator.

What does "made for kids" mean on YouTube?

YouTube Help says that regardless of your location, YouTube requires you to say whether your videos are made for kids, under an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission and to help you comply with COPPA and other applicable laws. It defines the term this way: children are the primary audience of the video, or children are not the primary audience but the video is still directed at children because it features actors, characters, activities, games, songs, stories or other subject matter that reflect an intent to target them.

Two points from the same page matter. First, the setting applies to everyone. YouTube Help says even creators who do not make content for kids need to set their audience, so that YouTube can offer the right features. Second, mixed audience content is a type of made for kids content. YouTube Help says this is content that targets children as one of its audiences, even if not the main one, and that general audience content is not the same as mixed audience.

On age, YouTube Help says a kid in the United States is anyone under 13, that the age may differ in other countries, and that creators should consider their obligations under local law.

How do you decide whether your content is made for kids?

YouTube Help points to the FTC's guidance and lists factors to weigh. None decides the question alone: YouTube Help says that some of these factors being present does not automatically mean a video is made for kids.

The same page says what does not settle it. A video is not necessarily made for kids because it is safe for everyone, because it covers an activity traditionally associated with children, or because children may see it by chance. Its examples of general audience content include a DIY video on remaking dolls, a family vlog about an amusement park, detailed instructions for making mods and a gaming video with adult humor. In its FAQ, YouTube Help adds two more: a satirical video with adults singing along to kids' songs, and a Minecraft video that includes adult humor. Content with sexual themes, violence or other mature themes is likely not made for kids.

Three answers in YouTube Help's FAQ catch people out.

• A disclaimer such as "13 and over" is one factor, and the FTC weighs it against the others, so it does not decide the matter.
• YouTube Analytics is not designed to help determine whether your content is child directed. YouTube Help says to use the FTC's factors and that the FTC suggested evidence such as a survey of viewers' ages could help.
• YouTube does not offer a separate mixed audience option. It says it streamlined the choices into a single made for kids category and has submitted comments to the FTC about a better solution for mixed audience creators.

If you are unsure, YouTube Help says it cannot provide legal advice and suggests seeking legal counsel.

What changes when content is set as made for kids?

YouTube Help says it limits data collection and use on made for kids content to comply with the law, and that this means restricting or disabling features. Most importantly, it does not serve personalized ads on kids content.

Recommendations change too. YouTube Help says videos set as made for kids are more likely to be recommended alongside other kids' videos. It also says a video set as made for kids is not automatically included in the YouTube Kids app, which has its own content policies and review.

How does made for kids affect earning money?

YouTube Help says not serving personalized ads on kids content may result in a decrease in revenue for some creators who mark their content as made for kids. It gives no percentage, and we found none on the pages we read.

The larger effect is on the features that sit beside ads. Our make money guide sets out each feature's conditions, and several name this setting directly.

That does not mean a made for kids channel cannot earn. Ads still run without personalization, and our application guide covers the Partner Program itself. The point is that a channel set as made for kids gives up several of the ways to add income that the earning conditions rely on. A channel with only a few made for kids videos is a different case from a channel-level setting, and YouTube Help words the conditions in terms of a significant number of videos, which it does not define.

Where do you set the audience, and can YouTube change it?

YouTube Help gives two levels: the channel, which applies to all existing and future videos, or each video individually. Settings for individual videos override the channel setting, so a mixed catalog can use the video level.

1. 01

   For the whole channel

   In YouTube Studio on the web, open Settings, then Channel, then the Advanced settings tab. Under Audience, choose yes, no or review every video, then save.

2. 02

   For a single video at upload

   Choose Create, then Upload videos. On the Basic info tab, scroll to Audience and pick the option that applies.

3. 03

   For existing videos

   Open Content, tick the videos, choose Edit Audience and update them. Archived live streams are on the Live tab of Content.

4. 04

   For a live stream

   Set the audience in the Live Control Room when you create the stream. Our guide to going live covers the rest.

YouTube keeps a right to step in. It uses machine learning to find videos clearly directed at young audiences, trusts creators to set their audience accurately, and may override the choice in cases of error or abuse. If YouTube detects an error on a video you already set, you may see it set to made for kids and you will not be able to change the setting yourself. You can appeal if you think it made a mistake. For a video you have not set yet, YouTube Help says you can usually change what YouTube chose. It also warns creators not to rely on YouTube's systems to set the audience, because they may not identify content that the FTC or other authorities consider made for kids.

What happens if you set it wrong?

Two kinds of consequence come from YouTube's own pages. YouTube Help says that failing to set your audience accurately may bring compliance issues with the FTC or other authorities and that YouTube may take action on your account. It also says there may be legal consequences under COPPA or other laws. It states that as a creator you know your videos and your audience best, and that it is your legal responsibility to comply and to designate your content accurately.

The background is public. In September 2019 the FTC announced that Google and YouTube would pay $136 million to the FTC and $34 million to New York to settle allegations that YouTube collected children's personal information, in the form of persistent identifiers used to track users across the internet, from viewers of child-directed channels without parental consent. The FTC said the settlement requires a system that lets channel owners identify their child-directed content, and requires the companies to notify channel owners that such content may be subject to the COPPA Rule. That system is the setting described above.

On penalties, the FTC's COPPA FAQ says a court can hold operators who violate the Rule liable for civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, and that the amount may turn on factors such as how egregious the violations were and how many children were involved. The FAQ addresses operators of online services, and how it applies to a particular channel is a question for a lawyer. YouTube Help says YouTube and creators share responsibility for complying.

How is made for kids different from an age restriction?

They are separate ideas, and YouTube Help treats them as opposites at the edges. Its examples of content that may be considered not made for kids include age-restricted videos that are not appropriate for viewers under 18. Content with mature themes is likely not made for kids. YouTube Help also says it age-restricts content that is meant for adult audiences but could easily be confused with family content. A made for kids setting says who a video is directed at. An age restriction says a video is not suitable for people under 18.

How common is made for kids? What our data shows

The Data API gives every video a madeForKids value, described as the video's current made for kids status, which may be determined by the creator's declaration. The videos documentation says a second property, selfDeclaredMadeForKids, is only returned to a request authorized by the channel's owner. We confirmed it: it did not appear in any public response, so we cannot compare what creators declared with the final status.

On September 26, 2026 we read the madeForKids status of the latest 20 uploads of 240 channels drawn at random from four subscriber bands of our tracked set, 4,659 videos in all, and the channel-level value where the API returned it, using 99 quota units. The set is built from charts, lookups and discovery, so it leans toward channels with a breakout video.

Made for kids is rare in this sample: 22 of 4,659 videos. It says nothing about how common it is across YouTube, because our set was not built to include children's channels and the counts are small. Treat it as a floor for a set like ours, since it counts only videos in the latest 20 uploads.

Two details are worth reading closely. The API returned a channel-level value for only 146 of the 240 channels, and the documentation does not say what a missing value means, so we do not interpret it. And the video setting really does override the channel setting: 2 channels flagged made for kids at the channel level had none of their latest 20 videos flagged, while 3 channels with a channel-level value of false had some flagged videos.

What mistakes do creators make?

• Treating family friendly as made for kids. YouTube Help says a video is not necessarily made for kids because it is safe for everyone.
• Treating a disclaimer as the answer. The FTC weighs it as one factor.
• Using YouTube Analytics to decide. YouTube Help says it is not designed to show whether content is child directed.
• Leaving it to YouTube. YouTube Help says its systems may not find everything the FTC considers made for kids, and that it can override you in cases of error or abuse.
• Setting the channel and forgetting that individual videos override it. Check the video level after a channel-level change.
• Ignoring the setting because you do not make kids content. YouTube Help says every creator has to set it.

FAQ

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