YouTube has been the go to platform to watch videos for free, the no – charge model has been supported by ads over the years. Fortunately, Google which is the parent company for YouTube, has been gracious enough to pay creators for ads appearing on their videos. These creators have to apply their YouTube channels to the YouTube Partners Program (YPP) , when they opt into this program, they agree to have ads on their videos and get paid for it. Any channel that isn’t part of YPP doesn’t have adverts on its content…until now.

Youtube changed its terms of service indicating that it has the “right to monetize” all content on its platform. This means that all videos on YouTube even those that aren’t on the Partner Program will start having ads in them and the channel owners won’t get paid for it. There are a significant number of users on YouTube who aren’t running a commercial channel, they simply upload videos of vacations or events and share them with friends and family. Well don’t be surprised to see ads on those videos without getting compensation.

“Since you’re not currently in YPP, you won’t receive a share of the revenue from these ads, though you’ll still have the opportunity to apply for YPP as you normally would once you meet the eligibility requirements,” said YouTube in a statement.

In case you notice ads on your videos and would like to be compensated for them, you can apply for YPP. Applying for the program will still need you to meet its usual requirements which include having a minimum of 1000 subscribers who have watched an accumulative 4000+ hours of your content in the last 12 months.

This change comes after a strong quater for YouTube which saw a 32% growth, compared to last year, in ad revenue at $5.04 billion. This was to be expected since most people were stuck at home due to the ongoing pandemic and YouTube provided an escape.

Channels of all sizes witnessing ads will still have to meet YouTube’s “Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines.” That means videos will have to meet basic standards to minimize content like inappropriate language, hateful material, or adult content, among other restrictions. Moreover, all videos with ads will still have to meet brand safety standards as outlined by Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

Note that YouTube channels that have been previously removed from the YPP program due to policy violations will not have ads.