What gets a Snapchat video taken down, age-restricted, demonetized or shown to fewer people
78 rules from Snapchat's own policy and help pages, in plain words: what triggers each one, what Snapchat says, and a link to the page.
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Snapchat
At a glance
What happens to a video that breaks one of these Snapchat rules, and how many rules lead there.
22 rules:Taken downMostly about hate and harassment; copyrighted music; animal welfare.
3 rules:Age-restrictedMostly about nudity and sexual content; regulated goods; violence and gore.
5 rules:DemonetizedMostly about reposted or unoriginal videos; AI-generated or altered media; engagement bait.
44 rules:Shown to fewer peopleMostly about low quality and video format; nudity and sexual content; violence and gore.
1 rule:Muted or blockedMostly about copyrighted music.
3 rules:Labeled or needs a disclosureMostly about sponsored posts and ads; AI-generated or altered media.
By topic
Nudity and sexual content7
Violence and gore7
Low quality and video format6
Hate and harassment5
AI-generated or altered media4
Reposted or unoriginal videos4
Sponsored posts and ads4
Copyrighted music3
Drugs, alcohol and tobacco3
Engagement bait3
Minors' safety3
Regulated goods3
Spam and misleading tricks3
Dangerous stunts and challenges2
Misinformation2
Politics and elections2
Privacy2
Self-harm and eating disorders2
Weapons2
Accessibility1
Animal welfare1
Gambling1
Health claims1
Impersonation1
Links to other sites1
Other apps' watermarks1
Scams and fraud1
Swearing and crude language1
Violent extremism1
Other1
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The 20 rules that matter most
20 of the 78, the ones that hurt a creator most first, with a few of each kind.
What gets a video taken down
01Account strikeMinors' safety
Sexual content involving minors
What triggers it: Any sexualization of a minor, nude or sexually explicit content of anyone under 18 (including yourself), or grooming or sextortion content.
“Never post, save, send, forward, distribute, or ask for nude or sexually explicit content involving anyone under the age of 18 (this includes sending or saving such images of yourself).”
What triggers it: Pornographic content, sharing intimate images without consent, sextortion, or selling sexual services.
“We prohibit promoting, distributing, or sharing pornographic content, including unsolicited sexual imagery (such as cyberflashing), sharing non-consensual intimate imagery, or engaging in sextortion.”
Someone's private info, location or hidden-camera footage
What triggers it: Sharing another person's private content, imagery or personal information (address, phone, documents) without consent, including doxxing and hidden-camera footage of private moments.
“We also prohibit non-consensual sharing of another person’s private content, imagery, or information, including sharing personally identifiable information (PII) for the purpose of harassment (i.e., “doxxing”).”
What triggers it: Threatening or intimidating a person, group or property; any joke about shooting or bombing a school, workplace or place of worship.
“Do not make jokes threatening this type of behavior. Such statements may result in your account being enforced for violation of these Guidelines, regardless of intent.”
What triggers it: Glorifying, promoting, encouraging or assisting self-injury, suicide or eating disorders, or sharing graphic self-harm content.
“We don’t allow the glorification, promotion, encouragement, or assistance of self-harm, such as self-injury, suicide, eating disorders, or other forms of serious self-harm.”
What triggers it: Denying tragic events, undermining elections or civic processes (wrong voting info, misrepresenting candidates), or manipulating content (AI or deceptive editing) for false or misleading purposes.
“such as denying the existence of tragic events, unsubstantiated medical claims, undermining the integrity of civic processes, or manipulating content for false or misleading purposes (whether through generative AI or through deceptive...”
Revealing clothing or mild innuendo (limited audience)
What triggers it: Swimwear, fitness wear, red-carpet or runway outfits, mild innuendo, sexual-health education, or people known mainly for adult entertainment.
“The following is eligible for recommendation, but we may choose to limit its visibility to certain Snapchatters based on their age, location, preferences, or other criteria.”
What triggers it: Non-graphic news violence, recovery talk about self-harm, cosmetic procedures without broken skin, tattoos or piercings in progress, animals in danger in nature, phobia triggers (spiders, trypophobia), horror makeup or realistic fictional violence, hunting.
“Triggers of common phobias such as spiders, insects, or trypophobia.”
Template, repetitive or automated content (not monetizable)
What triggers it: Reposting your own content, reusing the same tile image, near-identical Snaps such as nodding and pointing at text quotes, stock reaction footage or template-based effects as the main contribution.
“This includes content where the core visual or audio contribution is mechanically or automatically generated, such as the consistent use of stock reaction footage, or template-based visual effects.”
What triggers it: Views, favorites or follows from bots, paid services, view-trading or your own extra devices.
“If we determine that you have engaged in Invalid Activity, we may limit or suspend the distribution of your Snaps in Spotlight and you may be deemed ineligible for Payments.”
What triggers it: Music added outside Snapchat Sounds (e.g. a commercial song edited in elsewhere) without the needed licenses.
“If your content contains music other than Sounds, you are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses and rights that may be required for such music. Any such content may be muted, removed, or deleted if your use of music is not...”
Sponsored or gifted Snap without Paid Partnership label
What triggers it: Content that promotes a brand, product or service (including your own business, or anything you were paid or gifted for) without identifying it as commercial and using Snap's paid partnership tool on every Snap.
“Commercial content must identify the commercial nature of the content, and any promoted brand. You must also use Snap's paid partnership tool to label this content”