Made for Kids and COPPA — when and how to mark

The Made for Kids (MFK) setting is a federal compliance requirement in the U.S. under COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). It's not just a YouTube policy — it's a regulation enforced by the FTC.

What "Made for Kids" means

A video is Made for Kids if its primary audience is children under 13. The FTC and YouTube look at a combination of factors:

• Subject matter (toys, animation, nursery rhymes, etc.)
• Visual style and pacing
• Use of animated characters
• Language complexity
• Whether children are featured as performers
• Marketing or stated audience

You're responsible for designating the audience. YouTube will also do its own classification on top.

What changes when you mark MFK

When a video is marked Made for Kids:

• Personalized ads disabled — only contextual ads run, lowering RPM 40–80%
• Comments disabled
• No notifications when you upload
• Live chat disabled
• Not included in playlists from non-MFK channels
• No save to playlist, no like/dislike count visible

This is a significant earnings hit. But misclassifying carries higher cost — FTC fines can reach tens of thousands per video.

Decision tree

1. Is the content primarily aimed at children under 13?
2. Does it feature children's characters, toys, or simple animation aimed at young audiences?
3. Would a reasonable observer say the target audience is children?

If yes to any: mark Made for Kids.

If your content has some child appeal but is clearly designed for older audiences (e.g., adult commentary on animated films, retro toy reviews aimed at collectors), the safer position is "Not Made for Kids" — but document your reasoning.

Channel-level vs. video-level

You can set Made for Kids at the channel level (all uploads default to MFK) or per-video. Channel-level is appropriate when 100% of your content is for kids. For most operators, per-video is correct.

What YouTube does on top

YouTube runs its own classifier. If your designation differs from theirs:

• They override your setting and apply theirs
• You can request review
• Repeated overrides suggest systemic misclassification on your part

When in doubt

If you're not sure, mark Made for Kids. The earnings hit is real but recoverable. An FTC violation is not.

Outside the U.S.

Other countries have similar but distinct rules (UK Children's Code, EU GDPR-K). YouTube applies Made for Kids globally regardless of country, but the legal exposure varies.