Catch-All Alt

not to pull a "think of the children," but No Actually. I've been making videos as a hobby since 2015 (and I've had my channel since middle school), I was a minor when I started and I'm not sure I would have understood the kind of damage something a seemingly simple as a video of your face can do.

this is a Massive breach of privacy and over-reach on google's part No Matter What, but if they're going to randomly demand a state ID or license then they absolutely should not allow minors to be creators.

google having a stockpile of identifying information on teenagers is bad enough, but the Alternative of recording your face and handing it over to be filed away is Alarming considering it opens the gates for minors who Aren't old enough to have a license.

and yes, there is a third option, but it's intentionally obtuse. a long wait period (2 months), with no guarantee of access (unlike, say, the convenience of using your phone's cameras for either of the other two), with absolutely No elaboration on what the criteria is or how it's being measured.

it's the same psychological effect that mobile games rely on. offer a slow, unreliable solution with no payment to make the Paid instant gratification look more appealing (the "payment" in this case being You. you are the product being offered).

and it's Particularly a system that (I think intentionally) disadvantages people who don't treat their channels like a job. hobbyists or niche creators who don't create regularly enough or aren't popular enough to meet whatever Vague criteria needs to be met to pass.

markiplier would have no problem passing, your little brother might not be able to. and while Mark's name is already out there there's no reason why your little brother's should be too.

something like pinned comments may seem simple, you don't technically Need it. but it's a feature that's been available for years. most people don't look at descriptions anymore. so when there's relevant information that needs to be delivered then the pinned comment is usually the go to.

for my little channel that information is about the niche series I create for. guides on how to get into the series, sources on where to find the content At All (and reliably so). for other creators it can be used for things Much More Important.

I don't want to bother the person who made this tag, but I Do want to make this clear that I am not a monetized account either.

this affects potentially Any And All youtube accounts

This is google's official sources on what you need to do to unlock features beyond the "basic" user. what those features actually are is listed here:

Bare in mind, that All of the features listed here Used to be available to anyone with an account until youtube decided to rip them out and gate them off.

But an account with Basic Features is now the standard account. If you create a new account now (or if you're randomly prompted as an old account) you Will Not have access to the rest of the features listed. And you'll be limited in the number of videos you're allowed upload in a day by default.

To upgrade to Intermediate Features you Must "verify" your account with a phone number.

These features include:

Uploading videos longer than 15 minutes

Live streaming on the platform (with a daily limit)

Creating custom thumbnails for your videos

Creating a podcast in youtube studio

To upgrade to Advanced Features you are expected to share either a State Issued Identification (such as an ID, drivers license, or passport), or a 30 Second video of your face.

These features include:

Content ID Appeals (Meaning You Cannot Appeal If Your Video Is Copyright Claimed Without This, You Must Bend To Whatever The Claimant Wants By Default)

Apply for monetization

Add clickable links in descriptions

Pinned comments on videos

Community posts

I didn't Know that these pages existed when I made this post, because Youtube Didn't Tell Me when they sent me that message and asked me to appeal. imagine not finding out that you've lost the ability to fight a copyright claim until After the claim has already happened. that's insane.

oh and ! if you can't pin comments under your videos and you can't post clickable links in your descriptions then you're pretty much never able to source things ever again. which Again, is a major issue for me on my little nothing of a channel, but could be a Major Problem when it comes to things that are Much More More Important.

Oh and lets enjoy this little gem:

They'll either remove your face and or Literal ID from their systems in A Few Months, 2 Years, Or Maybe Never!

boop