Close Menu
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

What's On

A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users

16 September 2025

Hit Viking Survival Game Valheim Is Finally Coming To PS5 Next Year

16 September 2025

How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone

16 September 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Just In
  • A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users
  • Hit Viking Survival Game Valheim Is Finally Coming To PS5 Next Year
  • How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone
  • Palworld Launches Into 1.0 Next Year
  • Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins
  • Narrative Superhero Game Dispatch Launches Next Month With First Two Playable Episodes
  • How to Clean AirPods (and Other Earbuds)
  • The Best Ventless Fireplaces for a Cozy Flame
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
  • News
  • Phones
  • Laptops
  • Gadgets
  • Gaming
  • AI
  • Tips
  • More
    • Web Stories
    • Global
    • Press Release
Subscribe
Best in TechnologyBest in Technology
Home » YouTube Is Now Hiding Which Channels Get a Cut of Ad Revenue
News

YouTube Is Now Hiding Which Channels Get a Cut of Ad Revenue

News RoomBy News Room12 December 20233 Mins Read
Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Reddit Telegram Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

YouTube unleashed an influential generation of new internet celebrities in 2007 when it started to share ad revenue with select video creators. For the past couple of years, a snippet of code on YouTube’s website revealed which channels are part of the secretive and exclusive club. But users and activists who had come to rely on that flag suddenly found themselves in the dark last month.

YouTube removed the code, shutting off the ability of creators to keep tabs on their competitors—and of journalists and researchers to hold the world’s largest video streaming service accountable for who it allows into what’s known as the YouTube Partner Program, or YPP. Its demise hasn’t been previously reported.

Being part of YPP can be a validation of creators’ talents, but the uncertainty left by the code’s removal could let both new joiners and kicked-out creators escape attention. In September, YouTube announced that UK comedian Russell Brand had been suspended from YPP after several women accused him of rape and sexual assault. Now, it’s more difficult to track a channel’s status.

Maen Hammad says he and his colleagues at the US corporate responsibility advocacy group Ekō used the code on YouTube channels and tools empowered by it to carry out their investigations. The nonprofit previously used the flag to report on anti-LGBTQ content receiving revenue from YouTube. “I would have to believe that YouTube took out the source code after many civil society groups were using them to corroborate that YouTube was monetizing some of the worst disinformation on the internet,” Hammad says.

Tony Woodall, who runs a travel channel that he hopes will soon meet the viewership requirements to join YPP, made use of YouTube’s transparency about accounts in the program in recent months. He used the Google Chrome extension Is YouTube Channel Monetized?, which was powered by the code snippet, to research and learn from the strategies of other travel accounts already in YPP. “YouTube creators like to know which other creators are getting monetized and ask, ‘Why not me?’” Woodall says. He now feels deflated—the extension has stopped working, and no clear alternatives are available.

Asked about the vanished code, YouTube spokesperson Kimberly Taylor says the service constantly makes updates to improve the privacy of creators and viewers. While ads appear on a variety of videos and channels, just those in YPP get a portion of sales. Whether someone is earning ad revenue share is a fact YouTube intends to keep private with the channel owner, Taylor says.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleGoogle Testing ‘Private Space’ Feature for Android Phones to Securely Hide Apps: Report
Next Article Google Pixel devices could do something incredible in 2024

Related Articles

News

A DHS Data Hub Exposed Sensitive Intel to Thousands of Unauthorized Users

16 September 2025
News

How to Set Up and Use a Burner Phone

16 September 2025
News

Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins

16 September 2025
News

How to Clean AirPods (and Other Earbuds)

16 September 2025
News

The Best Ventless Fireplaces for a Cozy Flame

16 September 2025
News

Review: Apple Watch Series 11

16 September 2025
Demo
Top Articles

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024105 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views

5 laptops to buy instead of the M4 MacBook Pro

17 November 202492 Views

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Latest News
Gaming

Narrative Superhero Game Dispatch Launches Next Month With First Two Playable Episodes

News Room16 September 2025
News

How to Clean AirPods (and Other Earbuds)

News Room16 September 2025
News

The Best Ventless Fireplaces for a Cozy Flame

News Room16 September 2025
Most Popular

The Spectacular Burnout of a Solar Panel Salesman

13 January 2025129 Views

ChatGPT o1 vs. o1-mini vs. 4o: Which should you use?

15 December 2024105 Views

Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.

28 October 202495 Views
Our Picks

Palworld Launches Into 1.0 Next Year

16 September 2025

Matthew Prince Wants AI Companies to Pay for Their Sins

16 September 2025

Narrative Superhero Game Dispatch Launches Next Month With First Two Playable Episodes

16 September 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest tech news and updates directly to your inbox.

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
© 2025 Best in Technology. All Rights Reserved.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.