AM I SHADOWBANNED?

YouTube doesn't shadowban. Here's what it does instead

Paste your channel link and we read your recent uploads' public numbers for suppression patterns. Then the part most guides skip: YouTube's restriction systems are all visible and appealable — limited ads, age restriction, Restricted Mode, search thresholds — and this page maps every one to where it lives in Studio and how to appeal it.

Profile or video link

Reads only public data. 3 free checks a day without an account; nothing stored, the account isn't notified.

Paste your channel or video link

The analyzer reads public data — views, likes, upload dates of your last 15 videos — and checks whether recent numbers cliff against your own baseline or just vary post to post.

Read the verdict against your baseline

A channel median is computed from your uploads; the verdict says whether your latest videos broke below it in a pattern consistent with suppression, with each piece of evidence citing your numbers.

Check Studio's Restrictions column

The definitive answer is one column wide: YouTube Studio → Content lists every video's official status — limited ads, age restriction, claims. If it's empty, the drop is distribution, not enforcement.

The real mechanisms, mapped

YouTube's official position is that shadowbans don't exist — and unlike the other platforms, every real restriction is named, visible, and appealable:

Limited ads (the yellow icon)

Official wording: the video is eligible for ads, but brands running only on safer content won't bid — revenue drops. Shows in the Restrictions column; notices land in the Notices column; the Appeal button triggers a human review.

Age restriction

The video is hidden from signed-out users, under-18 accounts, and everyone using Restricted Mode — reach falls without any view-count mystery. Visible per video, appealable.

Restricted Mode filtering

Schools, libraries, and parental setups see a filtered YouTube. If your content is filtered there, that audience silently disappears — no notice, but testable by toggling Restricted Mode yourself.

Search and recommendation thresholds

Content that doesn't meet quality or policy lines gets surfaced less. This is the closest thing to a real 'shadowban' — and the one with no per-video notice, which is why the pattern analysis above matters.

Why your views dropped without any restriction

The most common answer isn't enforcement. Old videos don't expire — YouTube pulls videos on demand when interest returns, so a channel's totals are built by the few videos that keep getting found, not by launch-day spikes. A new upload that undershoots usually lost the packaging contest — title and thumbnail against your own back catalog — not a moderation decision. Since 24 August 2026 there's one more reason: view counts changed definition (any play of the first frame counts), so comparisons across that date mislead unless both sides use engaged views.

NEXT STEP

Restrictions clear? Then it's a packaging contest.

When Studio shows nothing, the fight is title and thumbnail against your own back catalog. Kabo's Trend Radar is a preview, not a live weekly tracker yet — it shows the planned workflow for finding what wins attention in your niche.

Try Kabo

Frequently asked questions

Is YouTube shadowbanning my channel?

YouTube says shadowbans don't exist, and unlike other platforms it shows its restrictions: check Studio → Content's Restrictions column. Yellow icon, age restriction, or claims there mean visible enforcement with an appeal path. Nothing there plus a view drop means distribution — run the analyzer above to see the pattern against your own baseline.

How do I appeal limited ads (the yellow icon)?

Open the video's monetization panel and use the Appeal button — YouTube states this triggers a human review. Notices about restricted videos appear in the Notices column on the Content page.

Why do my Shorts get zero views sometimes?

Each video is judged on its own — most channels don't carry momentum between uploads, so a viral Short followed by a near-zero one is normal distribution, not punishment. A cliff across your last several uploads against your baseline is the pattern worth checking, and that's what the analyzer measures.

Can this tool see YouTube's internal decisions?

No external tool can. It reads public numbers and flags suppression-shaped patterns; Studio's Restrictions column is the actual verdict. The honest division of labor: we read patterns, YouTube shows you its flags.

More free tools

YouTube Thumbnail DownloaderGrab any video's thumbnail in full resolution.YouTube Transcript GeneratorTurn any public video into clean, copyable text.YouTube Profile Picture DownloaderSave any channel's public profile picture at a selected size.YouTube Banner DownloaderSave a public channel banner at an available width.All YouTube toolsEvery free tool for this platform, in one place.All free toolsThe full Kabo toolbox for creators.

Was this useful?