Spam indicator
Download links in video description
What it checks
How many of the channel's video descriptions point to file-sharing or ad-gated link services.
The exact rule
- The share of the channel's public videos whose description contains "mega.nz", "mediafire.com" or "adf.ly", in any case, from 0% to 100%.
- It matches the text anywhere, not only in a full link, so a word that contains one of them counts too.
Why it can point to spam
Pirated films, cracked software and game cheats are often handed out through file hosts and pay-per-click link shorteners, and some of those downloads carry malware. YouTube's spam policy covers content that sends viewers to such files.
When it fires on a legitimate channel
Modders, musicians sharing their own sample packs and developers of free tools sometimes host their own files on these services.
How to change it
If you run the channel and share your own files, host them where viewers can see who publishes them, such as your own site or an official store page, and update the descriptions: in YouTube Studio, select Content, open the video and edit it on its Details page.