The first 7 seconds violence rule on YouTube

Gaming creators keep hearing about "the first seven seconds". It is a real part of YouTube's advertiser-friendly guidelines, and it is easy to misread. This page sets out what the official text says, what it does not say, and how to edit with it in mind.

What the guidelines say

On the advertiser-friendly content guidelines page, under violence, YouTube lists "graphic game violence in the thumbnail or in the first seven seconds of the video" in the tier where the video does not earn ad revenue. Graphic scenes outside the first seven seconds can still earn ad revenue, and so can violence that is obscured, such as a blurred kill. YouTube's separate gaming content page repeats the seven second window and also lists graphic game violence between 8 and 15 seconds as limited ads.

What counts as graphic game violence

The guidelines describe it as brutal killings or severe injuries that focus on bodily fluids or body parts, such as beheadings or dismemberment. Ordinary combat that does not dwell on gore is a different matter, and the guidelines say violence in unedited gameplay is generally acceptable. Some content stays out of ad eligibility even in a game, such as sexual violence, graphic torture, hate-motivated violence, or graphic violence against minors or real, named people.

Common misreadings

• "Any violence in the first seven seconds kills monetization." The text is about graphic violence, not every gunfight or hit.
• "After second seven I am free." The 8 to 15 second range is listed as limited ads on the gaming page. The two official pages differ on this range, so a cautious editor treats the first 15 seconds as sensitive.
• "A cold open is part of the video, so it does not matter." The guidelines say "the first seven seconds of the video" without more detail, so the cautious reading is that the count starts at the beginning of the finished video, including any teaser or cold open.
• "The rule applies only to the video, not the thumbnail." The thumbnail is named separately.

Editing around it

1. Move the graphic moment. Start the clip earlier, on the approach or set-up, so the gory moment lands after second 15. This usually improves the pacing too.
2. Reorder. If the clip's best moment is brutal, open on something else, such as the reaction, a stat screen, a map, or a title card, and then show the clip.
3. Obscure it. Blur or pixelate the injury area, or cut away just before the impact. See how to blur gore.
4. Check the thumbnail. Use a frame without graphic injuries.
5. Use a different clip for the opening. If the video is a compilation, put a milder segment first.

What about the rest of the video?

Later graphic moments can earn ad revenue under the text above, but a video that is mostly gratuitous violence is treated differently from ordinary gameplay. Violence is only one topic, too; language, music claims and other issues also matter. See our pre-upload checklist.

A note about uncertainty

YouTube can update these pages, and the way a given video is judged depends on automated systems and reviewers we cannot see. Reading the source page before each big release is worth the two minutes. Clip Preflight uses the seven second window as its red zone, treats 7 to 15 seconds as yellow, and presents everything as a risk estimate.

Run the free check on your clip

It samples your first 15 seconds in your browser. Footage is not uploaded. Pro (one-click fixes) is coming soon.