YouTube is fine with the F-word for monetisation, as long as it’s…

YouTube is making its monetisation policy more flexible to allow the use of profanities.

YouTube restricted content that included profanity in the first seven seconds from being fully monetised, and it featured the yellow dollar icon instead of the full green icon over the last few years. But now, as shared by Creator Insider’s, Conor Kavanagh, who is the Head of Monetisation Policy Experience at YouTube, creators can now fully monetise videos even if they include profanities during the first seven seconds. This change opens up new monetisation opportunities for YouTubers.

So why the change now?

YouTube is now okay with profanities but only until the 7-second mark. (Pixabay)

By Shaurya Sharma

Shaurya Sharma is the Technology Editor at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he oversees technology coverage across digital and social platforms. With over eight years of experience across editorial, video production, and digital media, his work focuses on smartphones, AI, consumer gadgets, and shaping audience-first content strategies for modern tech consumers.

He began his career in 2018 as a fashion cinematographer before turning his lifelong passion for technology into a profession. From spending his childhood immersed in tech magazines, video games, and the latest gadgets to covering the global consumer tech industry today, technology has remained a constant throughout his journey.

Over the years, Shaurya has worked with some of India’s leading media organisations, including CNN-News18, Sportskeeda, and Guiding Tech, where he led video initiatives that combined strong editorial storytelling with engaging visual and social-first execution.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Manipal University, Shaurya has reviewed hundreds of products across categories including smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, cameras, and wearables. Beyond work, he is passionate about animal welfare, environmental causes, and automobiles, particularly turbo-petrol cars

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Well, YouTube's Conor explains that over time there are new advertising policies, and advertisers cannot specifically target the types of content they would like their ads on.

It's primarily the change of expectations. Previously, there used to be an expectation of a gap between the actual profanity and the ad that is going to be displayed. But now advertisers are free to choose from their desired level of profanity.

What counts as profanity?

YouTube also explains exactly which words count as profanity. Words like assh*le are moderate profanities. Strong profanities include words like 'f*ck' and more. YouTube says you can now use all of these words without affecting the monetisation within the first 7 seconds of your YouTube videos. However, at the same time, if you use profanity in thumbnails or subtitles, monetisation will remain limited.

The video also goes in-depth about what can result in a limited monetisation status. Videos like a compilation of a character's top swear words from a specific TV show, or something similar wherein strong profanities are repeated, remains a violation of the advertiser-friendly guidelines on YouTube.

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