Google AdSense message sparks unnecessary panic among YouTubers

The YouTube community was briefly united in dismay when creators woke up to a concerning message from Google.

A message stating that YouTubers’ AdSense accounts have been canceled sparked panic throughout the community, as YouTubers faced the possibility that Google had taken away their avenue to income. It is through these AdSense accounts that the vast majority of YouTubers make money, and without them, many creators feared their careers on YouTube had come to an abrupt end.

Much of this panic appears to be unwarranted, according to reporting from Dot Esports. The concerning emails, which stated that the AdSense accounts had been canceled, but that amounts over $10 will still be paid out, didn’t clarify that the old accounts had been replaced. YouTubers still have a route to moneymaking on the site, it just no longer goes through AdSense.

YouTube’s monetary returns will now deliver through a new account, this one specific to the site. A helpful tweet from YouTube creator Kudos helped shed light on the confusing change, even providing pictures to illustrate that creators shouldn’t be concerned. The shared image shows that, just above the “closed” AdSense account, a new account option labeled simply “YouTube” has been added.

The change-up itself isn’t rankling many YouTubers, but the apparent lack of warning certainly is. In the early hours of Oct. 13 social media was abruptly awash with confused messages from YouTubers, flooding forums and dedicated pages to question the sudden change.

Many YouTubers make their entire income on the platform, so a message like the one from Google is undoubtedly going to stir up alarm. Thousands of people — likely more — woke up this morning to the news that their income had been taken away, and —while this initial assumption wasn’t actually true — it would’ve been nice of Google to provide some heads-up.

Thankfully, the change won’t actually affect YouTubers much, if at all. They’ll still be able to generate income through their uploads, and no new paperwork or hassle is required to get things up and running. Payments will simply operate through the new YouTube account, rather than the old AdSense accounts.