YouTube Channel Terminated for External Links?

Your channel was struck or terminated, and the email points to links. You did not upload anything explicit on YouTube. You linked to your profile on another site, or to a shop, or a fan page.

This guide explains what YouTube's external links policy covers, gives you a link audit checklist, and sets out the appeal route from YouTube's channel terminations page. For the full appeal process for any termination, our guide on appealing a terminated YouTube channel goes deeper. One wrong step can cost you the account, so know what you are doing before you start.

Last checked: 3 November 2026.

#Quick Answer

YouTube's external links policy bans links that send people to content that breaks its Community Guidelines, such as pornography, malware or phishing. It applies to descriptions, comments, pinned comments, on screen text and spoken directions. Remove any link that points to violating content, then appeal the termination from YouTube Studio with a short, factual explanation.

#What the External Links Policy Covers

YouTube's external links policy says that links that send users to content that violates its Community Guidelines are not allowed. It lists examples, and says the list is not complete:

• Links to pornography.
• Links to sites or apps that install malware or unwanted software.
• Links to sites phishing for sign in or financial details.
• Links giving unauthorised access to paid audio, video, games, software or streaming services.
• Links to sites selling items covered by YouTube's regulated goods guidelines.
• Links to content that would break YouTube's hate or harassment policies, or that encourages violence.

The policy also says it applies to video, audio, channel, comments, pinned comments, live streams and any other YouTube product or feature. Links can be clickable URLs, URLs shown as text in a video or image, or obscured URLs such as writing dot com. It also counts verbally directing viewers to other sites and encouraging viewers to visit creator profiles or pages on other sites.

The page adds that affiliate content does not break YouTube's Terms of Use, but that excessively posting affiliate content in dedicated accounts may break its spam policy. That spam policy separately bans content created solely to drive users off YouTube to external sites, especially those hosting prohibited material.

#How a Link Turns Into a Strike or Termination

The external links page says that if content breaks the policy, YouTube will remove it and email you. If YouTube cannot verify that a link is safe, it may remove the link. A first violation is likely a warning with no penalty, and you can take a policy training so the warning expires after 90 days. If you get three strikes within 90 days, your channel may be terminated. YouTube also says it may terminate a channel after a single case of severe abuse, or when the channel is dedicated to a policy violation.

YouTube's strike basics page adds that Community Guidelines apply to links, and that you are told about a strike by email, with details of what was removed and which policy it broke. Read that email closely. It tells you whether the problem was a link, a video, or the whole channel.

#Link Audit Checklist Before You Appeal

Work through each place a link can live. This is our checklist, built from the places YouTube names in its policy.

Linked pages change over time. A link that was fine when you posted it can point to something else now, such as a profile that started posting adult content, or a domain that expired and was taken by someone else. Check them as they are today.

#How to Appeal the Termination

YouTube's channel terminations page sets out the appeal on a computer:

1. Open YouTube Studio. You may need to sign in again.
2. Below the termination info, click Begin Review. You may need to complete a verification step.
3. Review the reason for termination, then click Next.
4. Select Start Appeal, then click Next.
5. Provide your contact email address and explain your reason for appeal.
6. Click Submit.

If you cannot submit through Studio, the same page links to an appeal form. It says creators have up to one year from the termination date to appeal, that creators can only submit two appeals in that year, and that there is a limit on the number of times you can appeal a single termination. That makes each appeal count.

#What to Say in a Link Appeal

• State plainly which links you have removed or changed, and where they were.
• If a destination changed after you posted it, say so in one sentence.
• Explain what your channel is about and who it is for.
• Do not argue that other channels do the same. Keep to your own channel.

#Do Not Start a New Channel

The terminations page says that if your channel is terminated, you are prohibited from using, possessing or creating any other YouTube channels. That applies to existing channels, new ones, and channels where you are repeatedly or prominently featured. Starting fresh while you wait breaks that rule. Our guide on being terminated as linked to another channel explains how that link is made.

#Malaysian Creators Who Link Out

Malaysian creators link to shops on marketplaces, to fan support pages, and to profiles on other apps. Shop links to ordinary goods are not the issue here. Watch for regulated goods, such as vapes, and for profile pages that host adult content or pirated streams. The rules are the same wherever you are based, and appeals go through YouTube Studio.

#When It Is Safer to Get Expert Help

Appeals are limited, and a weak first appeal uses one of them. Getting help is safer when the channel earns you money, when you have a long back catalogue with links in hundreds of descriptions, when the email does not say which link caused it, or when you already used one appeal. Fake helpers also target terminated creators, which adds a second risk.

If you are unsure about any step, or the channel matters to your income, having an experienced team handle the audit and the appeal is the safer choice. AwareXone does this work. See our YouTube channel help page.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

A case review helps when you need a careful link audit across a large channel, or a second opinion on your appeal before you send it. We are a Malaysia-based team, independent of YouTube and Google, and we use only the official appeal routes. We do not ask for your password or codes, and we cannot promise a result. See how we work on our trust page.

#Frequently Asked Questions