If you’re an avid blog reader, you probably remember blog series like AdSense Facts & Fiction and Newbie Fridays. After much demand, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be delivering more frequent policy posts. Every month, we’ll be taking a closer look at our policies to provide clarifications, best practices, and tips.
This week, we’d like to revisit one of our longest standing and most asked about policies: adult content. As every AdSense publisher should know, ads may only be placed on family-safe content. Because the label “family-safe” is a general term that differs among all countries and cultures, we often receive questions asking for clarification on what we consider adult content.
Prohibiting sexually explicit pornographic images is straightforward, but publishers often unknowingly overlook some of the more subtle content that can be intended for a mature audience. Examples can include adult toys or fetish sites, sheer/see-through clothing, and lewd or provocative poses (even if clothed) that have sexually gratifying overtones. This rule applies to links or ads that drive traffic to adult or mature content too.