YouTube allows F-bombs in first 7 seconds of videos

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YouTube has relaxed its community guidelines by allowing profanity — including strong language like "fuck" — within the first seven seconds of a video to still qualify for full monetization. 

The change marks a significant shift in how the platform enforces its advertiser-friendly content policies, giving creators more leeway in their language use.

Earlier, videos that featured strong profanity at the very start were limited to "limited ad revenue." But under the new policy, such videos can now earn full ad dollars, according to Conor Kavanagh, YouTube's head of monetisation policy experience.

The updated rules follow a revision in March 2023, which permitted ad revenue on videos with profanity between the 8–15 second mark. Now, that tolerance window has been extended to include the very beginning of videos — the part most sensitive to advertisers.

However, there are still boundaries. Kavanagh emphasised that profanity in titles or thumbnails will still restrict monetisation. More so, videos with a "high frequency" of strong profanity throughout remain ineligible for full ad revenue.

As for profanity after the seven-second mark, it does not automatically disqualify a video from full monetisation — unless it occurs excessively or is paired with other violations.

"The expectations of advertisers have changed," Kavanagh said. "They already have tools to target the level of content they’re comfortable with." Still, he cautioned creators: "You have to pick and choose your fucks carefully."