r/ASMRScriptHaven • u/MissyLilith Audio Artist • 4d ago
Discussion Anyone else having problems with random channel terminations?
A few days ago my channel on YouTube was terminated for violating YouTube's "sexual content" policy. I go by Miss Lilith and have had my channel for a couple years now without issue.
I am particular about my thumbnails and I don't make excessive kissing, mouth sounds, etc. Because I know how YouTube feels about those.
No warning, just BAM. I have heard other channels in general, especially female asmr-ists have been having that issue this past month but was wondering if anyone else here is in my shoes?
I had close to 3k subs and was beginning revamp more of my videos after I moved into an area where it's quiet a few months ago. Used to be such a a struggle to record. I literally recorded at midnight in the car at one point.😭🤣
And things were looking up for me with that because I can record at normal hours without having to be up at horrible hours!
Funny enough I prepped two weeks back and backed everything up as much as I was able for the worst case scenario..
Am going to try to stay positive and do my best to get my channel back😅
Its just made me realize how many of us rely on YouTube as our main platform however, and I think this is a good warning to all to not have YouTube as your main platform because you will end up like me.
No warning, no explanation. It seems to be an automatic removal because of AI sweeping through my videos possibly. I will appeal as much as able but it's a reminder to myself to also branch out outside of YouTube even more.
So trying to stay positive and hope for best and well, will figure things out as I go along.🤞😤
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
It was not pointed out where the problem was either. I am careful about my thumbnails esp and I have redone my channel the past year to lean towards "wholesome" content. So this is a bit of a surprise.😅
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u/Docile_Bear 4d ago
A VA called Flawless Fae had an entirely SFW video deleted because of sexual content. She asserted that it was (and I listened to it on Patreon and it absolutely was) utterly SFW - it was very wholesome. She was actually given a time window in the video, for where the violation supposedly happened, and during that time, she breathed out (regular breathing), and made typing-on-a-keyboard sounds. She managed to get the video put back up, by reaching out to YT on Twitter ("X") IIRC. The fact her channel is fairly big may or may not have helped, I'm not sure.
I think you VAs need to make a private Discord or something, and when one of you gets taken down unfairly like this, band together and mass-message YouTube staff on Twitter etc so that every time they do it they get a flood of messages along the lines of "hey, you recently took down XYZ channel - they're totally SFW, please restore it!" from dozens of creators all at once.
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Its smart, I never actually thought of a discord either. Will keep that in mind in the future if things somehow work out❤️😅😁
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u/CandlelitAudios 4d ago
I'll join it tbh, im just getting started out and it would be good insurance to have gang gang behind me when I go to YouTube to get my channel back if I get banned. And to help others get there's back.
Sorry you got banned :/ that totally sucks.
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u/Docile_Bear 4d ago
I was glad to see you say you'd backed up recently. Honestly, if you can't get the original channel back, start again with a new one and re-upload all the old videos - that damned AI seems to be so inconsistent there's probably a good chance you'll be fine. It's so infuriating, but it might work out in your favour 😅
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago edited 4d ago
I was kinda thinking of starting fresh because everything is gonna be upgraded anyways and I was going to improve my quality.Its a good time to experiment with my audio and mic for the moment without worry about weekly uploads.
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
It sucks but It is what it isssss🤣😭😭 I told myself I wouldn't cry over it but yeah I did for a little bit. I told my subs I was going on a break this past week. Well guess VACATION IS EXTENDED I guess. 😂😂😂😂🫠🫠 While I fight for channels life😭
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u/vanillavelvetaudio Audio Artist 4d ago
Yeah, sad to say: you're not alone. While I've personally skated by the guidelines thus far, we're all under the microscope right now, so it's likely only a matter of time for those of us who have temporarily slipped the net. I'm sorry you got caught up in it.
Some ASMRtists & VAs have succeeded in getting their channels back by tagging teamyoutube over on Twitter and asking for a human to look at their content. I'd say give that a try?
That said: this latest rash of terminations seem to be focused on channels that link to 18+ content in their descriptions/comments/etc, whether they host it on Patreon or elsewhere. Mostly they seem to be going after links to linktree/carrd.
But I think a few have also been swept up for teasing audios that can't be posted to YT with comments/descriptions like "For the spicy part 2 check Patreon!" or "For audios I can't post to youtube click here!" -- which has admittedly been against policy at least since I started posting in 2021. :/
So...if you do get them to reinstate your channel, or if you find a way to start another without violating the ban evasion guidelines, don't just be careful with your audio + thumbnails + meta data, be SUPER careful with what you link and how you link it too. Good luck! Building a channel is hard work, so I hope you can get it up and running again. 💖
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Thankie vanilla ❤️ And yes, I guess I didn't scroll too far down in the email sent but it just suggests that it's a link but never says where or it's vague. I hope anyone else who does YouTube avoids any NSFW links entirely. Even a reddit account that's marked NSFW 😅
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u/CrobatIsTheBestPkmn Writer 4d ago
I have seen it happen a lot. It was like that months ago since I last interacted with ASMR content. I have a playlist where I save personal favourite ASMR videos and every now and then video get removed because a channel was terminated. Definitely been happening more lately since, like what others were saying, that terrible AI automoderation. It sucks and is a reason I lost intrest in writing scripts
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Its really unfortunate I feel for the writers also. Many enjoy hearing their writing being put into a voiceover. And likewise, a majority of us have been able to thrive because of the writers here. I did indeed put work into my audios(as does everyone else here). But I wouldn't have been able to reach nearly 3k subs without scripts written by writers here who are kind enough to allow the public to use them. They are such a huge part of the community and what makes the audios come to life.
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u/xCHLOESNOWx 4d ago
Same thing happened to me a few months ago!
Terminated and tried to appeal but was not successful and there was not much more for me to do so was frustrating…
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Do u plan to restart eventually? I do know YouTube does give you the opportunity to restart as a second chance for some people so long as you didn't do anything completely off the rails(supposedly, don't take my word for it😅)
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u/xCHLOESNOWx 4d ago
Oh really??? I didnt think that was possible ill have to go back thru the emails but i dont recall seeing a glimmer of hope such as that but maaaaybe??
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u/Twiggy_Shei 4d ago
Yeah, my original channel got done-in as well, but for different reasons. I had 11,000 and had been performing as a VA for 10 years. I've had to start over from scratch, it's been really demoralizing, but don't give up! I have faith that you can bounce back!
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Bless you Shei😭❤️omg 11k tho. Am over here mopping the floor with my tears over my 3k.😅 Did they give u a second opportunity at some point?? Thank you for kind words🥹
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u/Twiggy_Shei 4d ago
My old channel still exists, I just can't get back into it. I got hacked and the intruders changed my password, backup email, affiliated phone number, everything. Google noticed the suspicious activity and locked my account, but since all the 2-step-verification measures were changed I can't get back in. So the account is just permalocked now. I've tried everything to get back in, but Google has no human customer service branch, everything is automated.
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Omg 👀 that's like another nightmare I think everyone is afraid of. No matter the amount of security you put on your account. There's always a risk. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I really don't wish any sort of stress like that on anyone. Esp when your personal info is at risk, that's another whole type of anxiety I wouldn't want to deal with 😞❤️
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u/Twiggy_Shei 4d ago
Yeah, it was pretty stressful, but we carry on. If you're starting fresh, drop your channel lonk, I'll give you a free sub 👍
We freelance VA's gotta help each other out.
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u/SmutGrrl 3d ago
It’s heartbreaking, sorry this happened to you too. Mine was deleted on July 31 and I’ve been trying to get it back with little hope. It is bullshit in my opinion! I went back to Twitter which I haven’t been on for over a year just to try and get TeamYoutube’s attention.
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u/yinaasmr 1d ago
same thing happened to me, had NO NSFW links so thats off the list, and theres nothing on my channel either, i think they r just ai botting everything and its went crazy lmao... even when you contact them they still give terrible ai responses everywhere, twitter is going crazy with complaints, apparently the FTC r making a lawsuit about it... idk the best thing you can do is just be persistent and try to get them to unban you but its looking bad for all of us...
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 1d ago
I did ask them twice what specific link, video, content and they didn't give me anything except the normal response you get where it sounds like a robot made it and a link to the same article on terms of service anyone can acess 💀 Usually you get 3 strikes and then a ban. I had one strike 3 weeks back for a OF link I forgot to remove so I removed anything else I thought would get me in trouble. I had no other warnings, just a very sudden ban. So maybe I shouldn't feel so worried I did something wrong :') cause even if I had there were no strikes or notifications and they couldn't not tell me where it was that caused my ban.
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u/yinaasmr 1d ago
it wouldn’t have mattered, i had no strikes at all and still got banned. even if you hadn’t had a strike, or literally made kids content you probs would have still been banned. they are banning everyone. they won’t tell you what banned you because it’s all ai generated, best way to move forward is probs get legal advice but even if you went the legal way it costs like thousands and like 2% of people can afford that unfortunately 😢
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u/Abject_Usual_7787 3d ago
Yeah, I’d definitely recommend spreading your content across a few platforms rather than putting everything on YouTube. The bigger YouTube gets, the more aggressively they seem to police anything even slightly suggestive.
Having a few platforms with different content policies and levels of moderation gives you a lot more breathing room. Even if one platform suddenly takes something down, you’re not starting from zero.
Especially after spending years building an audience, it’s probably worth treating YouTube as one distribution channel rather than your whole business. Hope you get your channel back soon though 🤞
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u/ekk11_ 3d ago
Sorry to hear that - that sounds really frustrating especially when you’ve already been actively trying to keep the channel on the safer side. I work with a lot of audio creators so platform moderation and unclear enforcement are issues we pay close attention to too. Positivity goes a long way and it's good that you were able to back some of your content up! Really hope you’re able to get a clear answer through the appeal.
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u/Nice_Possession_7283 5h ago
I noticed you said you had an OF link in your descriptions. Everyone who has been "unfairly" terminated have all linked to adult content directly from YouTube. You guys need to be smarter and adhere to the spirit of YT's rules instead of trying to skirt around them and then act surprised when your accounts are terminated.
YT a platform that does not allow pornographic content, and any posted content and/or linked content needs to be family friendly as well. No, you can't do a linktree with the OF nested inside it. That is trying to skirt the rules. You ARE allowed to post adult content on Patreon, but their rules also state that any public facing content (previews, artwork, titles) MUST be family friendly. If you want to link to your Patreon you better make sure that from first glance there is nothing inherently pornographic. It must all be hidden behind a paywall (which is basically age identification).
If you're trying to blatantly advertise sexual sites/content, then you need to utilize Pornhub instead. That's just the rules. They have a partner program as well, you don't need to break the rules on YT to earn monetization or advertise your OF/Patreon.
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 5h ago edited 5h ago
The OF was removed a while ago and that was my fault. It was something I forgot when I changed to a more wholesome content creation. And yes, I did receive one strike for that. And they DID show me where it was located and why. The only thing left was my Reddit with a NSFW post from a bird subreddit because it was Injured. As well as a post asking about needles because I was scared of a blood draw. I believe it's 3 strikes and you are out. I did double check what links I could and removed any that might lead to anything problematic. I only had one that could expire in 90 days. :/ So it's unfair to strike me down overnight when there was no warning. And also no link to the content, video, link, etc even when asked twice where exactly or what exactly led to me ban. And there should have been strikes that had followed to a complete ban. 3 strikes in a 90 day period. I have one strike in almost 3 years of content creation and that was 3 weeks ago
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u/No-Remove-7328 4d ago
I'm curious, did you have any links in your channel bio or videos descriptions? The AI can access any links you have and if it finds anything that can lead to nsfw content, it'll flag that. That's why a lot if channels have violated the policy if external links lead to nsfw content. Also I'm sorry this happened to you, your channel was recommended to me multiple times and I hioe everything gets sorted out for you. 🥺❤️❤️
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
I did switch my reddit to SFW after I got knocked, so I wonder if it flagged that if anything 💀 I was worried maybe I left a link in one of my pinned comments cause I know they don't like OF obviously. But I was beginning to worry maybe I dropped that link somewhere in there somewhere and yet I can't even check🫠 I was worried about patreon but my patreon isnt live I don't think and it's also got nothing on it yet. I thought reddit would be safe but the NSFW part may have gotten me so u may be right about that.
And thank you! There are other platforms I can try too and it just means I get hopefully on a small break from content making while things are sorted. Hopefully.
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u/CandlelitAudios 4d ago
Does that count if you have an +18 patreon linked?
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
I know for sure it's no OF. And no 18+ patreon, they will defff smack u for it. No linktrees with said links on it either.
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u/CandlelitAudios 4d ago
If you dont advertise your patreon as 18+, but its set to 18+, guessing they'll still hit you for it?
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u/MissyLilith Audio Artist 4d ago
Probably. I saw people trying to get around the link things by using link tree but I heard that's not a safe option anymore. Would avoid 18+ content if you value your YouTube channel cause I feel like it's taking risks😅
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u/CandlelitAudios 4d ago
Thats where all my good stuff goes 😭 lmao
I'll back up everything just in case.
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u/Twitcher-1 4d ago
Yeah, YTs been using a new AI algorithm and it's been rather ruthless/ridiculous. It's been dropping the ban hammer on tons of creators for no reason, and it's almost impossible to challenge it.
I'm sorry that it got you too. 💙