Yesterday (Sept 30th) around 7:30 a.m., I open my mail up to a message no creator wants to see: my YouTube channel has been removed. No copyright strikes, no community guideline warnings, nothing in my inbox to even suggest a problem. Just gone.
The official notice from YouTube? A so-called “circumvention policy violation.” Whatever that means. With only 42 subscribers, over 100 videos uploaded, and absolutely zero strikes, I never expected to be targeted. But apparently YouTube’s bots had other plans.
Getting into the appeal process was a headache of its own. It took me a good while to even log into my account to file the appeal. The channel dashboard is now nothing but a blank screen with my Google avatar in the corner — a silent reminder that years of work can be erased in a single automated decision. I’ll be uploading a short video soon to show exactly what YouTube Studio looks like when you’ve been wiped out without explanation.
The worst part? YouTube offers no real human contact. No live support. No straight answers. Just vague policies and an appeal form that feels like it goes into a black hole. For a platform that thrives on creators, they sure make it easy to delete channels without warning.
Let’s be clear: this is the dark side of YouTube. Creators pour time, energy, and passion into their videos, only to risk losing it all overnight because of random, unexplained enforcement. YouTube has built its empire on our work, yet treats small creators as disposable.
Here’s the thing: I don’t even need them. My web hosting already includes unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage, which means I could easily host all my videos myself. I don’t have to rely on YouTube, Instagram, or any other platform that thinks nothing of pulling the plug without warning.
I’ve already had headaches with Instagram recently. I even created a new account, TimeToXploreOfficial, but honestly, I’m not sure I’ll do anything with it. Social media is starting to feel like more stress than it’s worth. When you never know if your work will be deleted tomorrow, it’s hard to find joy in creating.
For now, I’ll keep pushing the appeal and documenting this mess here on Time to Xplore. But today serves as a harsh reminder: these platforms don’t care about creators — they only care about control.