YouTube Banner Copyright Guide

Using copyrighted images in your YouTube banner can lead to channel strikes or legal issues. Here's what you need to know.

What You CAN Use

Your own photos and artwork — Original content you created
Licensed stock photos — From sites like Shutterstock, iStock, or Adobe Stock with proper licenses
Creative Commons images — CC0 or CC-BY images with proper attribution
Royalty-free images — From Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay
Commissioned artwork — Art you paid an artist to create (ensure you have usage rights)

What You CANNOT Use

Other people's photos without permission
Screenshot of TV shows or movies
Copyrighted logos of other brands (without permission)
Fan art by others without the artist's permission
AI-generated images trained on copyrighted material (legally gray area)

Free Resources for Legal Banner Images

Unsplash — Free high-resolution photos, no attribution required
Pexels — Free stock photos and videos
Pixabay — Free images, vectors, and illustrations
banner.yt Banner Maker — Create original banners from scratch

Downloading Others' Banners

Using banner.yt to download other channels' banners for inspiration and reference is fine. However, do not use another channel's banner as your own — that would be copyright infringement.