Kids in videos: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and more, side by side
The short answer
The strictest line is nudity: Instagram, Facebook and Threads remove videos of a child with no clothes from neck to knee, even a bath-time or beach clip, and LinkedIn removes child nudity even when it's shared innocently.
- YouTube wants videos for kids under 13 set as made for kids, and may recommend videos featuring minors less even when they break no rule.
- TikTok doesn't show under-16 creators' videos on For You, and wants an account where a child is the main subject to make clear it belongs to an adult.
- TikTok and YouTube both remove videos of minors with alcohol, vapes or weapons, and pranks that put a child in danger or distress.
- Snapchat holds back images of children shown without a parent's consent or a news reason, and Instagram, Facebook and Threads remove videos of children under 13 filmed without permission when a parent reports them.
- TikTok
- YouTube
- X
- Threads
- Snapchat
At a glance
| Platform | What can happen | Its strictest rule |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Taken down, Shown to fewer people | Minors with alcohol, vapes, gambling or weapons |
| YouTube | Taken down, Demonetized, Shown to fewer people, Labeled or needs a disclosure | Minor drinking, vaping, with guns or in danger |
| Taken down | Nude or sexualized children | |
| Taken down | Nude or sexualized children | |
| X | Taken down | Minors in a physical fight |
| Threads | Taken down | Nude or sexualized children |
| Snapchat | Shown to fewer people | Children shown without a clear consent context |
| Taken down | Sexualized minors or minors in underwear | |
| Taken down | Any child nudity, even innocent |
The rules, side by side
Each row is a platform's own rule: what it means, what the platform says, how to fix it, and where to read it in full.
| Platform | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Minors with alcohol, vapes, gambling or weaponsRemovalA person who appears under 18 shown or promoted gambling, drinking alcohol, smoking or vaping, using fireworks, or having weapons.Fix: Cut the shots of the minor with these items, or re-film without them. | “Showing or promoting young people participating in gambling, using alcohol, tobacco or vaping, or fireworks, or having weapons” | |
| TikTok | Child abuse, neglect or endangermentRemovalShowing neglect, endangerment, or physical or emotional abuse of a minor (including 'prank' punishments or humiliation of children), or content that could identify a minor who has been abused.Fix: Remove the scene. Do not post content that shows or names a child who was abused. | “Neglect, endangerment, or physical or emotional abuse of young people” | |
| TikTok | Creator under 16: videos not shown on For YouNot recommendedThe account holder is under 16. Their videos are not recommended in the For You feed (Creator Academy: not recommended to people they don't know).Fix: Nothing to change in the video. Under-16 creators should expect reach mainly from followers and search. | “needing to be 16+ for your videos to appear in the FYF” | |
| TikTok | Child-led video on account that doesn't look adult-runA child is the main on-screen subject and the account does not make clear (bio, profile picture or username) that it belongs to an adult.Fix: Make it clear in the bio, profile picture or username that a parent runs the account; having the adult appear or speak in the video also helps. | “If you do so, it needs to be clear that the account belongs to an adult. The bio, profile picture, or username are good places to do this.” | |
| YouTube | Minor drinking, vaping, with guns or in dangerRemovalMinors drinking alcohol, vaping, using tobacco or marijuana, misusing fireworks, using firearms unsupervised, doing dangerous stunts, challenges or pranks, or being abused or put in emotional distress.Fix: Remove any shot of a minor with alcohol, vapes, fireworks or firearms, and any prank that distresses a child. | “Never put minors in harmful situations that may lead to injury, including dangerous stunts, challenges, dares, or pranks.” | |
| YouTube | Kid-styled video with adult or scary themesRemovalContent that targets young children or families (cartoon characters, kids' keywords, 'made for kids' setting) but contains sexual themes, violence, obscenity, medical procedures, self-harm, adult horror characters or other themes meant to shock young viewers.Fix: Don't use kid-appealing characters, thumbnails or keywords for mature content; set the audience accurately and age-restrict adult animation yourself. | “Content that targets young minors and families with age-inappropriate themes within an educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context may receive an exception.” | |
| YouTube | Mature, scary or bad-behaviour themes in kids contentDemonetizationMade-for-kids content with mature themes (sex, realistic violence or weapons, any moderate or stronger profanity, drugs, alcohol), scary content aimed at kids (jump scares, kidnapping, horror characters), or content encouraging bad behaviour (bullying, cheating, binge-eating sugar, dangerous DIY).Fix: For made-for-kids uploads, use zero profanity, no realistic guns and no horror characters. | “Themes that are mostly associated with teen or adult audiences such as nudity, sex, realistic violence, drugs, alcohol, or profanity in the video, thumbnail, or title.” | |
| YouTube | Video featuring children may lose recommendationsNot recommendedVideo that features minors or is uploaded by a minor, even if it breaks no rule, especially in risky contexts (bath, swimwear, bedroom, revealing personal details).Fix: Avoid risky framing of children, keep their personal details out, and keep an adult visibly present. | “Video recommendations (how and when your video is recommended)” | |
| YouTube | Video aimed at children must be set 'made for kids'Needs a disclosure labelVideo whose primary audience is children under 13, or that is directed at them through child actors, kids' characters or toys, simple songs or games, preschool education or child-oriented language.Fix: Set Audience to 'Yes, it's made for kids' for child-directed videos, and 'No' for general-audience videos. | “it is your legal responsibility to comply with COPPA and/or other applicable laws and designate your content accurately.” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | Nude or sexualized childrenRemovalAny child nudity (incl. toddlers, bath-time and beach clips; a child with no clothes from neck to knee even if nothing explicit shows) and any content that sexualizes real or non-real children (incl. AI, dolls, drawings, sexualized costumes or poses).Fix: Cut every frame of an unclothed child and anything that sexualizes a minor. These can lead to account disabling and reports to NCMEC. | “No clothes from neck to knee - even if no genitalia or female nipples are showing” | |
| InstagramFacebookThreads | People filmed in clinics or kids without consentRemovalIdentifiable people in a medical or health facility, children under 13, or people unable to consent, filmed without permission; removed when the person, a parent/guardian or the facility reports it.Fix: Blur identifiable patients and children who are not yours, or get consent. | “A minor under 13 years old, and the content was reported by the minor or a parent or legal guardian.” | |
| X | Minors in a physical fightRemovalVideo of children or teenagers in a physical altercation, such as a school fight.Fix: Blur the faces of the minors or do not post the fight. News use should carry a content warning. | “We may require post removal upon receiving a report from the minor or an authorized representative.” | |
| Snapchat | Children shown without a clear consent contextNot recommendedImages of children (including children of public figures) that are not newsworthy, not with a parent at a public event, and not made with parental consent.Fix: Blur children's faces, or only feature children whose parent or guardian agreed. | “We also prohibit sharing images of children, including the children of public figures, unless:” | |
| Sexualized minors or minors in underwearAccount strikeAny content that sexualizes minors (poses, performances, settings, attire), nudity or partial exposure of minors including minors in underwear, or grooming.Fix: Do not post. Remove any footage of minors undressed or posed suggestively. | “Nudity and partial exposure of minors, including minors in underwear.” | ||
| Any child nudity, even innocentRemovalImages or video of an unclothed child shared with good intentions (bath time, beach, newborn photos).Fix: Remove or crop frames showing an unclothed child. | “while we recognize that there may be instances where people share images of non-sexualized child nudity with good intentions, we generally remove these images due to the potential of misappropriation and abuse by others.” |
Laws that apply on every platform
These come from laws and advertising regulators, not from a platform, so they follow you to every app in the places they cover.
| Where | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Kids' video not set as made for kids (US)Needs a disclosure labelThe video's intended audience is children under 13 (judged by subject matter, visuals, animated characters, child-oriented activities, music, age of the people shown, child celebrities, language, kid-targeted ads), but the creator has not set it as child-directed / made for kids on the platform.Fix: Set the audience to 'made for kids' (YouTube) or the platform's equivalent, and do not ask kids for personal details, run kid-targeted data collection, or link to off-platform sign-ups. If the video is not for kids, make sure titles, tags and thumbnails do not target kids. | “However, if your intended audience is kids under 13, you’re covered by COPPA and have to honor the Rule’s requirements.” | |
| Australia | Under-16 accounts banned (Australia)RemovalThe account holder is an Australian under 16 on an age-restricted platform (eSafety's view: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit, among others). Platforms must take reasonable steps to stop them creating or keeping an account.Fix: If you are under 16 in Australia, you cannot keep an account on these platforms. Content featuring under-16s posted by an adult's account is not affected by this law (platform minor-safety rules still apply). | “As of 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms need to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.” |