YouTube Expands Alerts on Potentially Offensive Comments, Updates Creator Payment Process

YouTube is expanding its warnings on potentially offensive comments to desktop, while it’s also updating its payment system, which will see YouTube creator payments going to a separate account within AdSense.

First off, on comment warnings – back in 2020, YouTube launched new comment warnings in the mobile app which are displayed whenever YouTube detects a potentially offensive response in the composer, giving users a chance to review their comment before posting. Now, the same alerts are being expanded to desktop as well.

As you can see, the alert will prompt the user to reconsider their comment, while also providing a link to YouTube’s Community Guidelines for more context on what could potentially violate the rules.

YouTube says that the goal of these alerts is to encourage respectful on-platform behavior, while also protecting both creators and viewers from comments that may be offensive. And it must be helping, with the expansion to desktop showing that YouTube is confident that the notification can reduce angst and negative behaviors in its app.

The new desktop alerts are being rolled out in English and Spanish from today, with more languages to come in future.

YouTube’s also updating its payments system, which will see it split YouTube and AdSense earning displays into separate categories, which will alter where you can find info on your YouTube payments.

As explained by YouTube:

“Today, what happens is your YouTube and AdSense earnings are paid into one single payments account, and once the balance hits $100, earnings are disbursed. But starting in March, and rolling out over the next couple of months, users will begin to see their YouTube earnings paid into a separate payments account.”

YouTube says that if you only use AdSense for YouTube earnings, the change will have little impact, but your YouTube payments account will now appear on a dedicated YouTube homepage within AdSense, which you’ll be able to find in the dropdown on the AdSense payments page.

That could be a significant, and potential panic-inducing shift for creators, so it’s worth noting the change, and where your YouTube payment info will now be located.

Both changes are relatively minor in the broader scheme, but they will have impacts, and hopefully, the expansion of these comment alerts is a signal that these types of prompts are having a positive impact on on-platform engagement.