Platform · pre-upload
AI labels on YouTube thumbnails and videos
YouTube's rule leans toward active disclosure rather than automatic metadata detection, but provenance data in the thumbnail and in the video container is still inspected.
On-device/No upload/Quality unchanged/No sign-up
Drop a file here, or click to choose
MP4 / MOV only · 25 MB per file · up to 5 per batch
You can also paste a screenshot with ⌘V / Ctrl+V
Cleaning options
Want to look first? Themetadata inspectorlists every field in the file, so you can see exactly what is there before deciding what to strip.
Disclosure-driven, but thumbnails and video containers are both checked
The same image in different slots — feed, story, cover — may be three separate files, and each one has to be handled.
What the platform reads
| Entry point | Notes |
|---|---|
| Thumbnail | JPG / PNG, carrying C2PA and XMP |
| Video file | udta / meta inside the MP4 container |
| Shorts | Follows the same path as a normal video |
Pre-upload checklist
- 11. Clean the thumbnail separately — it is the one most often forgotten
- 22. Clean udta / meta out of the video container
- 33. If the content really is AI-generated, still disclose it as the platform requires
- 44. Upload that copy, with no editor or forwarding in between
Common traps
- Handling the video and uploading the thumbnail untouched
- Mistaking “metadata cleaned” for “disclosure not required”
If it is still flagged after cleaning
That means the trigger was never in the file metadata. It could be an invisible pixel-level watermark, the platform's own visual classifier, or history held on the platform side. None of those live in the metadata layer, and cleaning again will not change them.
The full boundaries are in thedisclaimer; if you just want to confirm the file really is clean, use thewatermark check.
Common questions
Do I still tick the AI disclosure afterwards?
If the content really is AI-generated, yes. Removing metadata does not remove the platform's disclosure requirement.
How do I clean the thumbnail?
It is an ordinary JPG / PNG — use the image cleaner.
What if the video is over 25 MB?
Rewrite the container with ffmpeg -map_metadata -1 -c copy, or trim the clip first.