YouTube will roll out a new age verification system using machine learning to estimate whether a user is under the age of 18. Starting August 13, theyāll begin monitoring a small group of users based on search history, the types of videos watched, and how long the account has been active. One thing I found interesting is that they stated that they donāt care what age is listed under the account.
How Will It Work?
As I mentioned above, accounts will be categorized as either over 18 or under 18. Accounts marked as under 18 will have the following protections:
1ļøā£ Personalized advertising turned off
2ļøā£ Digital wellbeing tools automatically enabled
3ļøā£ Extra safeguards in recommendations, including limits on repetitive views of certain types of content
One of the biggest ways YouTube will determine this is by looking at your watch history. If you're a kid logged into your parent's account and watching a lot of content made for kids, it doesn't matter if the account is registered under your parent's age. It could still be flagged as an under 18 account. Obviously, you're probably fine as long as youāre not watching 900 hours of Cocomelon a week or constantly watching content that appeals to children.
There are eventually going to be situations where someone under 18 is using a parentās account, the account gets flagged as under 18, and then it ends up restricted when the parents want to watch content they actually enjoy. This brings us to the next part of the update: the account owner can verify their age by entering credit card information, uploading a government ID, or uploading a selfie (a bunch of hoops to jump through) to prove the viewer is over 18. I can also see this pushing more parents to create separate accounts for their kids.
What Does This Mean for Creators?
A lot of the creator accounts I have access to, especially those making content that appeals to younger audiences, show an audience demographic of 30 to 40 year olds. Iād imagine that a big portion of those are actually kids using their parentsā accounts, which are now going to get flagged as under 18. Those creators are going to pay the price and earn lower CPMs because those viewers wonāt be served personalized ads.
Most creators who make kids content try really hard to avoid being labeled as āmade for kids.ā I think challenge videos, scripted content, gaming (especially Roblox and Minecraft), and animation are going to be hit the hardest. That said, I donāt think most of them are going to pay much attention to this at first. They'll keep making the same videos theyāve always made. However, if thereās a significant drop in AdSense revenue, people are going to start to freak out. If Iām a creator in one of these categories, Iād be ready to make changes if that happens.
The Big Takeaway
YouTubeās new age verification, launching August 13, will estimate usersā ages based on behavior like watch history and search activity, not profile information. If flagged as under 18, users will lose access to personalized ads and certain features unless they verify their age with an ID, a selfie, or a credit card. This could create issues for shared accounts and lead to mistakes that affect recommendations or access. For creators, it could mean a drop in ad revenue if their audience gets flagged as younger, especially for content that appeals to teens like gaming, challenge videos, or animation.
In this weekās Spotlight, I talked to Kendall Rae, a true crime and investigative storytelling creator who has been making content on YouTube since 2012. In 2017, she found her true calling in telling stories with care, empathy, and a focus on advocacy. With nearly 4 million subscribers, Kendall uses her platform to highlight underreported or forgotten cases, often working directly with victimsā families to bring their stories the attention they deserve.
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