YouTube Terms Scorecard

Grade A- — Mostly protective (score 89/100)

YouTube provides clear notice of changes and allows content export, but imposes broad indemnification requirements and a one-year statute of limitations on legal claims.

Standard terms. Includes indemnification and shortened statute of limitations.

Terms at a glance

Sells your data
NO
Forced arbitration
NO
Trains AI on your content
UNCLEAR
Collects biometric data
NO
Shares data with government
NO
Easy to cancel
YES
Tells you before changes
YES
Deletes data on request
YES

What the terms actually say

Indemnity

you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless YouTube... from and against any and all claims... (including but not limited to attorney's fees)

You are required to pay for YouTube's legal defense and any damages if a third party sues them because of your actions or content.

Limitation on Legal Action

YOU AND YOUTUBE AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION... MUST COMMENCE WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES. OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

You lose your right to sue YouTube if you do not file your claim within one year of the incident.

Develop, Improve and Update the Service

If we make material changes that negatively impact your use of the Service, we’ll provide you with reasonable advance notice

YouTube promises to notify you before making significant changes that negatively affect your service.

Terminations by You

You may stop using the Service at any time. Follow these instructions to delete the Service from your Google Account, which involves closing your YouTube channel and removing your data.

You can delete your account and data at any time using a self-serve process.

Governing Law

All claims... will be litigated exclusively in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, California, USA.

Any legal disputes must be handled in California courts.

Last reviewed 2026-07-25 under rubric v3.5.

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