Made for Kids (MFK) is a required audience designation introduced in January 2020 following YouTube's COPPA settlement with the FTC. It determines whether a video is treated as kid-directed content with strict feature and ad restrictions. Every creator must mark each video, and the channel as a whole, as either Made for Kids or Not Made for Kids.
Why Made for Kids Exists
In September 2019, the FTC and the State of New York settled with Google and YouTube for $170 million over allegations that YouTube collected personal information from viewers under 13 without parental consent, violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). As part of the settlement, YouTube agreed to identify kid-directed content on the platform and stop serving personalized ads against it.
The Made for Kids designation rolled out to all creators in January 2020. Since then, every upload must be classified, and the classification cascades into ads, recommendations, and which features can run on the video.
What Gets Disabled on Made for Kids Videos
When a video is marked Made for Kids, YouTube turns off most data-collection and engagement features. The intent is to prevent any personalized tracking of viewers who may be children.
Features Disabled on MFK Videos
- Personalized advertising (only contextual ads allowed)
- Comments (turned off entirely)
- End screens and cards
- Info cards
- Save to playlist
- Notification bell signups for the video
- Mini-player and picture-in-picture
- Channel memberships
- Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Super Thanks
- Stories and Community posts on the channel level (in some cases)
- Personalized recommendations from these videos
How to Set Made for Kids
You can set the MFK designation at two levels:
- Per video: During upload in YouTube Studio, the Audience section asks "Is this video made for kids?" You must choose Yes or No before publishing. You can also change a video later under its Details page.
- Channel default: Under Settings → Channel → Advanced settings, you can declare whether your entire channel is built for a kid audience. Channel-wide MFK overrides per-video settings.
What Counts as Made for Kids
YouTube and the FTC use several factors to decide whether content is directed at children under 13:
- Subject matter (kids' shows, toys, cartoons, nursery rhymes, simple educational topics)
- Visual style (bright colors, animated characters, simple language)
- Use of child actors or models
- Music, sound effects, or activities commonly associated with children
- Whether the video is featured in apps or channels meant for kids
Gray Areas
Some genres are genuinely contested. Toy reviews aimed at adult collectors, family vlogs with kids on camera, animation made for adults, and gaming content played by adults but watched by kids all sit in murky territory. YouTube's official guidance is to consider the primary audience, not coincidental child viewership. When in doubt, many creators consult a media attorney rather than guessing.
Revenue Impact of Made for Kids
The single biggest creator consequence of MFK is monetization. Without personalized ads, YouTube can only serve contextual ads (matched to the video's topic, not the viewer's behavior). Contextual ads pay dramatically less because advertisers can't target high-value audience segments.
Most creators see CPM drop by 50-90% on MFK videos compared to non-MFK content. Memberships, Super Chat, and Super Thanks are also off the table, removing several non-ad revenue streams. For channels that pivoted into kids' content for the audience size, the math after MFK landed shifted fast.
Misclassification Penalties Are Real
The FTC can fine creators directly, not just YouTube, for marking child-directed content as Not Made for Kids. Fines can reach over $50,000 per violation under COPPA. YouTube also uses machine learning to flag videos it believes are misclassified and may override your setting, sometimes demonetizing in the process.