A new, optional feature for paid promotion disclosure

YouTube creators are among the most influential voices in media today. Since brands increasingly recognize the value of the connection creators have with their fans around the world, they are investing in collaborations to reach viewers in interesting and authentic ways. At the same time, viewers appreciate transparency when brands and creators collaborate on paid promotions such as product placements, sponsorships or endorsements.

While there are a variety of ways creators can disclose paid promotions, today we are launching a new, optional video feature that adds visible text on the video for the first few seconds a viewer watches, informing viewers of a paid promotion. Creators can also choose to add this text disclosure to any existing video without losing their view count or other video metrics.

We’re excited to provide this feature in response to requests for an easy-to-use notification, but since there is no global disclosure standard, creators and brands should check and follow applicable laws as they may vary greatly by region.

We’ve always asked creators to notify YouTube as well when a video contains paid promotion by checking the “video contains paid promotion” box in their Video Manager. We do this to remove the video from the YouTube Kids app in line with our existing policies, and we may replace the ad served with one that does not conflict with the promoted brand partner.

You can find more information about this new feature and our paid promotion policies in our Help Center. To learn more about disclosure rules and regulations, refer to your local legal resources, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States, Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) in the United Kingdom, or the Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) in France.