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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Community Guidelines Strikes
A first YouTube Community Guidelines violation is usually only a warning, which expires 90 days after you finish a short policy training. After that, strikes freeze posting for one week, then two, and a third strike in 90 days can remove the channel.
A first Community Guidelines violation on YouTube is typically only a warning, and taking the optional policy training offered in YouTube Studio makes it expire 90 days after the training is completed. Violations after that bring strikes: the first freezes posting for one week, a second within 90 days for two weeks, and three strikes within 90 days can mean permanent removal of the channel. Each strike lasts 90 days, and each can be appealed once. These strikes are separate from copyright strikes, which come from legal takedowns and follow their own rules.
Quick facts
| First violation | Usually a warning, no penalty |
| Warning expires | 90 days after policy training, if the same policy is not broken again |
| First strike | 1 week without posting |
| Second strike in 90 days | 2 weeks without posting |
| Third strike in 90 days | Channel may be removed |
| Strike length | 90 days from issue |
| Appeal window | 6 months for warnings and strikes; 1 year for removed content |
| As of | Nov 6, 2026 |
Sources: Community Guidelines strike basics on YouTube, Appeal a Community Guidelines strike or video removal, YouTube Help.
The warning
The first time content breaks the Community Guidelines, YouTube removes it and usually gives the channel a warning with no other penalty. Severe abuse is the exception: it can end a channel without any warning (Community Guidelines strike basics on YouTube). The warning shows on the Studio dashboard and the Content tab, and arrives by email.
How do I remove a Community Guidelines warning?
Take the policy training. Since Aug 29, 2023 a warning can expire: before that it stayed on a channel for good, as YouTube's 2019 rules had it.
- Open the warning from the YouTube Studio dashboard or the Content tab (the YouTube app offers it too).
- Choose the policy training and complete it; it is short.
- The warning expires 90 days after you finish, not 90 days after it was issued.
If the channel breaks the same policy within those 90 days, the warning may not expire and the channel may get a strike. Breaking a different policy after the training brings a new warning instead. Not every warning is eligible for training (Community Guidelines strike basics on YouTube). George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, walks through the training in "Remove your Community Guideline Strike warnings by taking a test on YouTube!": his had seven questions, the last two asking him to check every answer that applies.
What does a strike do?
| Strike | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First | 1 week without uploading, live streaming, scheduling, Premieres, custom thumbnails, posts or playlist changes; it starts when you acknowledge the strike |
| Second, within 90 days of the first | 2 weeks without posting |
| Third, within 90 days | Permanent removal of the channel |
Source: Community Guidelines strike basics on YouTube, YouTube Help.
After a first strike's week, privileges come back automatically, but scheduled public videos are set to private and must be scheduled again. Every strike expires 90 days after it was issued, and deleting the video does not remove it. A channel can also be ended for repeated violations or a single case of severe abuse, whatever its strike count (Channel Termination).
How do I appeal a strike?
Warnings and strikes can be appealed for 6 months after they were issued, and removed videos, posts, playlists, thumbnails and links for up to 1 year. Each strike can be appealed only once, and deleting the video ends the chance to appeal it.
- Sign in to YouTube Studio and open the Dashboard.
- On the channel violations card, choose the appeal option.
- Explain why the content does not break the policy, giving context, and submit.
YouTube emails the decision; Help gives no time frame (Appeal a Community Guidelines strike or video removal). A rejected appeal brings no extra penalty. George's notes from 2018 to 2020 record many reinstatements after appeals that explained context: what the video is, who it is for and why it is educational, documentary, scientific or artistic, the exceptions YouTube recognizes.
Link and thumbnail strikes
Strikes are not only for videos. Links in descriptions and comments to sites that break the guidelines, such as pornography, malware or phishing, can bring a warning or a strike, and YouTube may remove just the link and leave the video up (Links in Descriptions). Egregious custom thumbnails can bring a strike too.
How strikes changed
The system dates from YouTube's post of Feb 19, 2019: from Feb 25, 2019 every channel got a one-time warning, then strikes with the same penalties for every policy (one week, two weeks, termination). George's "New YouTube strike rules! (effective Feb 25, 2019) - KYC #19" covers that launch. The 2019 warning never expired; the main change since is that it can, through policy training, since Aug 2023. The penalties for strikes are the same today.
What creators say
In a Nov 3, 2023 video, George Vanous of Freedom! showed the training offered for a warning his channel had appealed, unsuccessfully, three years earlier: a rejected appeal did not rule it out. It was a multiple-choice test, which he passed at the first attempt.
He had expected the warning to vanish at once; instead it was set to expire 90 days after he finished. He still called it "an actual benefit", since before then the warning never went away.
In his Feb 2019 video on the new rules, George Vanous of Freedom! called the one-time warning "a fantastic idea", reasoning that most creators who get a first strike never repeat it, and he cited YouTube's figures: 98% of creators never break the guidelines, and 94% of those who get a first strike never get a second.
In the same video he reported a strike on a skit channel in his network for a video that put people in perceived danger. Freedom! fought it and YouTube upheld it; his advice was to make sure nobody in a video could believe they are in danger.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a YouTube Community Guidelines strike last? Each YouTube Community Guidelines strike expires 90 days after it was issued. Deleting the video does not remove it, but a successful appeal does.
Does the first YouTube violation give a strike? Usually not. A first Community Guidelines violation is typically only a warning, unless the abuse is severe enough to end the channel at once.
How do I get rid of a YouTube warning? Complete the policy training YouTube Studio offers for the warning. The warning then expires 90 days after the training, as long as the channel does not break the same policy again in that time.
What can't I do with a YouTube strike? For one week after a first strike, a YouTube channel cannot upload, live stream, schedule videos, run Premieres, add custom thumbnails, make posts or change playlists; a second strike within 90 days makes it two weeks.
How long do I have to appeal a YouTube strike? Six months from the date YouTube issued the warning or strike, and up to one year for removed content. Each strike can be appealed only once.
What happens with three YouTube Community Guidelines strikes? Three strikes within the same 90 days can lead to the permanent removal of the YouTube channel.
Sources
- Community Guidelines strike basics on YouTube, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Appeal a Community Guidelines strike or video removal, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- YouTube policy updates, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- External links policy, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Making our strikes system clear and consistent, YouTube Official Blog, Feb 19, 2019
- NEW: YouTube Community Guidelines System, YouTube Creators, Aug 29, 2023 (video)
- Remove your Community Guideline Strike warnings by taking a test on YouTube!, Freedom!, Nov 3, 2023 (video)
- New YouTube strike rules! (effective Feb 25, 2019) - KYC #19, Freedom!, Feb 20, 2019 (video)
Moments
NEW: YouTube Community Guidelines System
YouTube Creators
- A first Community Guidelines violation on YouTube is typically only a warning, and taking the optional policy training…
- Take the policy training. Since Aug 29, 2023 a warning can expire: before that it stayed on a channel for good, as…
- If the channel breaks the same policy within those 90 days, the warning may not expire and the channel may get a…
- After a first strike's week, privileges come back automatically, but scheduled public videos are set to private and…
★ New YouTube strike rules! (effective Feb 25, 2019) - KYC #19
Freedom!
- The system dates from YouTube's post of Feb 19, 2019: from Feb 25, 2019 every channel got a one-time warning, then…
- In his Feb 2019 video on the new rules, George Vanous of Freedom! called the one-time warning "a fantastic idea"…
- In the same video he reported a strike on a skit channel in his network for a video that put people in perceived…
Remove your Community Guideline Strike warnings by taking a test on YouTube!
Freedom!
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See also
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Copyright StrikesA YouTube copyright strike comes when a video is removed after a legal takedown request. It expires after 90 days once you complete Copyright School, and three active strikes put the channel up for termination.
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Channel TerminationYouTube terminates a channel for three strikes in 90 days, repeated violations, one case of severe abuse or a channel dedicated to breaking a policy. You can appeal in YouTube Studio within a year, twice, and a pilot lets some terminated creators ask for a new channel after a year.
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Links in DescriptionsYouTube allows links in video descriptions and comments, but links to porn, malware, phishing, pirated content, regulated goods such as online casinos, or other content that breaks its rules can bring a warning, a strike or removal. Links in long video descriptions are clickable; in Shorts descriptions they have not been since Aug 31, 2023.
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Age RestrictionAn age-restricted YouTube video can only be watched by viewers who are signed in and 18 or older, mostly not on other websites, and it may earn limited or no ads. Creators can restrict their own videos or appeal YouTube's restriction in YouTube Studio.
- AI Training SettingYouTube's third-party training setting, in YouTube Studio's channel settings, lets a creator allow outside companies to train AI models on their public videos. It is off by default, you pick companies or allow all, and it does not cover Google's own training.
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Altered or Synthetic ContentYouTube requires creators to disclose realistic AI-generated or meaningfully altered content by setting "AI use" to Yes under Attributes when uploading. The label does not limit reach or monetization, but repeatedly hiding AI use can.