YouTube[3] is a global online platform for sharing and viewing video content, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It has grown to become one of the world’s most popular video sharing platforms with a market share of around 43% as of 2010. It is well-known for its impact on internet[4] trends, creating celebrities and its influence on popular culture. YouTube generates revenue through ads, paid content, and its ad-free service, YouTube Premium. Despite criticisms for spreading misinformation and privacy[5] violations, it continues to grow and evolve, with significant technological advancements and feature enhancements. It also ventured into mobile apps and network TV. In recent years, there has been a surge in usage, driven by milestones like one billion hours of daily video watched and the launch of new features such as YouTube Kids[2] and YouTube Shorts[1].
YouTube is an American online video sharing and social media platform owned by Google. Accessible worldwide, it was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States, it is the second most visited website in the world, after Google Search. YouTube has more than 2.5 billion monthly users, who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos every day. As of May 2019[update], videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute, and as of 2021, there were approximately 14 billion videos in total.
 Logo used since 2017 | |
 Screenshot of the video player on September 13, 2023 | |
| Type of business | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
Type of site | Online video platform |
| Founded | February 14, 2005 |
| Headquarters | 901 Cherry Avenue San Bruno, California, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide (excluding blocked countries) |
| Owner | Alphabet Inc. |
| Founder(s) | |
| Key people |
|
| Industry | |
| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$31.5 billion (2023) |
| Parent | Google LLC (2006–present) |
| URL | youtube (see list of localized domain names) |
| Advertising | Google AdSense |
| Registration | Optional
|
| Users |  2.7 billion MAU (January 2024) |
| Launched | February 14, 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
Content license | Uploader holds copyright (standard license); Creative Commons can be selected. |
| Written in | Python (core/API), C (through CPython), C++, Java (through Guice platform), Go, JavaScript (UI) |
In October 2006, YouTube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion (equivalent to $2.31 billion in 2023). Google expanded YouTube's business model of generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by and for YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subscription option for watching content without ads. YouTube incorporated Google's AdSense program, generating more revenue for both YouTube and approved content creators. In 2022, YouTube's annual advertising revenue increased to $29.2 billion, more than $9 billion higher than in 2020.
Since its purchase by Google, YouTube has expanded beyond the core website into mobile apps, network television, and the ability to link with other platforms. Video categories on YouTube include music videos, video clips, news, short and feature films, songs, documentaries, movie and teaser trailers, live streams, vlogs, and more. Most content is generated by individuals, including collaborations between "YouTubers" and corporate sponsors. Established media, news, and entertainment corporations have also created and expanded their visibility to YouTube channels in order to reach greater audiences.
YouTube has had unprecedented social impact, influencing popular culture, internet trends, and creating multimillionaire celebrities. Despite its growth and success, the platform is sometimes criticized for allegedly facilitating the spread of misinformation, the sharing of copyrighted content, routinely violating its users' privacy, enabling censorship, endangering child safety and wellbeing, and for its inconsistent or incorrect implementation of platform guidelines.
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