Overview
- YouTube began a first-wave rollout to over 5,000 selected YouTube Partner Program creators, notifying them by email on Tuesday.
- After opting in and verifying identity with a photo ID and a randomized selfie video, flagged matches appear in a new Likeness tab in YouTube Studio.
- Creators can request privacy-based removals, file copyright complaints, or archive items, and they can opt out later with scanning halted within about 24 hours.
- YouTube says the feature is still in beta and may surface genuine, unaltered footage as matches, indicating a risk of false positives.
- Reports differ on voice detection capabilities, with some citing face and voice matching while others note voice-only clones may not be detected, and YouTube targets availability for all monetized creators worldwide by January 2026.