The future of DAPixelhero - YouTube's new guidelines and how it affects us.

Hey everyone! This blog post is a little different than the usual you expect, but it discusses a topic that I think is important to talk about. This blog post is going to be a tad bit long, but I assure you, it is important and affects all aspects of DAPixelhero and GRIMKITTY Productions in a way. And if you see changes in the next couple of days, then you'll know what's going on.

YouTube's new Guidelines.

Starting tomorrow (August 13th), YouTube is going to be implementing a new system that changes how "teens" watch and view YouTube. (There's a reason I put teens in quotes, we'll get to that here in a bit). YouTube will be implementing a new system that uses AI to check a user's watch history/activity to determine if they're underage or not.

How this affects users:

This affects users by restricting the type of content they view, not only that, but YouTube have stated that it will enable digital well being tools by default. This includes “take a break” and bedtime reminders.

How this affects creators:

This will restrict the ability to earn from gifts on vertical live streams, and the big one, "Setting uploads as private by default for anyone." Both are quotes from the official statement made by google.

All of these factors are determined if google's AI system comes to the conclusion that you are under 18.

Why would we care?

It's simple really! No matter how many times Google claims its new AI is "reliable and uses many factors to determine it's conclusion" their many answers remain vague and could also just be heavily downplaying their actual intentions to get people to upload personal information to their databases. What do we mean by this? Well, if the AI model determines you as a teen, "you’ll have the option to verify your age (through government ID, selfie, or a credit card)" (A direct quote from the official google statement). We believe that this is a big violation of privacy. Putting something as big as this in the hands of an AI (Something that has never been fully reliable) is really dangerous. There is no say in how long Google can hold on to this information for, so, in the case that a massive data breach/hack manages to happen, there's always the possibility of a leak of said collection of ID's, meaning your ID could be leaked. When you're ID is leaked, what happens? Identity fraud, doxes, many many bad end results. This would not only affect viewers, but creators too, especially faceless creators such as myself! Then that creates a whole other case of issues, stalking, harassment, doxxing again, swatting, and worse! There are a ton of factors into this system that could be egregiously terrible, and while we do understand that this is to comply with UK's new online laws (which we also do not agree with and are heavily against), bringing these guidelines into the US is highly unnecessary.

This whole situation has actually been affecting people as of recently! Here's an example of it affecting a YouTuber known as "CerosTV."

So you're against keeping kids safe?

I have a feeling this question will come up, because it seems to be the only counter argument to make the other side seem terrible. The answer is no, we aren't against keeping kids safe. Quite the opposite actually! Keeping kids safe online is a good thing! However, we believe there are right ways to do it, and wrong ways to do it. And connecting your real life identity to your online one, with highly sensitive personal information, and removing all anonymity, is a really wrong way to do it. We believe it is parent's responsibility to "parent" (see how it's in the name?) their kids and ensure that they are safe online. Another argument that could be made would be "Providing your ID to see a R-Rated movie, or purchasing alcohol." And while yes, that is something already being done, the counter to this is that you don't upload your ID to a database to see a R-Rated movie or purchase alcohol. You simply show it to a cashier or employee for a few measly seconds. Your ID never gets stored online. Which is the main argument for this whole situation. There are many other factors that brought us to this situation (death of kid online spaces, such as flash games and web games, etc.) but that's a conversation for a different day. The point is, attaching your personal info to your online self is highly invasive, and almost tyrannical, by removing what made the internet what it was meant to be, a place to separate yourself from your real self as a form of truly expressing who you are in ways that couldn't be done in real life. Again, a lot of factors go into this when you think about it hard enough, but that's not really what we're here to talk about.

How does this affect DAPixelhero & GRIMKITTY?

Now that you get the situation at hand, I'd like to talk about the ACTUAL point of this blog post, how does this affect DAPixelhero and GRIMKITTY? Well, my plan is as simple as this: If an AI determines that I, a 22 year old man, is under the age of 18, with the only way of identifying myself is by using a personal identification, I will not be coming back to YouTube until YouTube reverses their decision. It was tough to decide this, but I do not agree with these choices at YouTube and I have chosen not to comply if I'm forced to. The thought of this does make me really sad, as I have built this channel up for 10 whole years since I was 15. Making content for everyone to enjoy and share with their friends. But if things have to go down this way, then so be it. As for the GRIMKITTY Productions channel, I have no idea what will happen to that. I guess we just lose our advertising over on YouTube? This essentially goes for all of my channels. Which again, sucks, but I refuse to comply to a system that I don't agree with. I do want to make it clear that I still do plan to still upload on YouTube though! So nothing is going anywhere instantly, this is all just what will happen if I do end up getting affected down the line! So YouTube uploads will still happen, this is just in the case that I get "restricted" and everything gets privated.

Will DAPixelhero be dead for good? No coming back?

Well the answer varies to be honest. If I get completely cut off of YouTube, then I just leave YouTube, simple as that. But does that mean DAPixelhero is dead? Absolutely not! I have known about this issue for a couple of weeks now, and while working on RUSH, I have done my research and have looked far and wide to look for alternatives. At the moment, I have found one! I'm not, entirely on board with it just yet, but It's the only form of an alternative I've got for now, that being: Odysee!!

As of writing this, I am one of the first "somewhat big" GD YouTubers to be on it at the moment! Which I thought was pretty awesome! I plan to upload most of the big videos over there, and I plan to start up the other YouTube channels on their as well! Including some exclusive content over on Odysee as well! That being said, not only am I uploading Geometry Dash Biohazard Classic on the channel, but I'm actually uploading the long lost "HD Remaster" versions of the videos! Which were previously only available to watch on "DAPixel+" when that was a thing before getting discontinued! So you can view all of the classic levels, as well as the remake levels when they come out! I plan to upload all of the DAPixelPlayz uploads, as well as the Nexitron sneak peeks and trailers! And of course, all of the Level Showcases from 2.2! Do not worry, Nothing will really be lost for good. I have a whole 1TB Hard drive filled with all of the content you guys love from over the years! So nothing is truly going away! I plan to move the other channels over to Odysee too! This is just until I find either a better alternative, or just something else lol. Rumble was a consideration, but I feel like I'd get hate crimed for simply being on there, so I just decided against it LOL. So for those who also get affected by this, and would still like to view my content with no restrictions, you can go check me out on there! There is something else I have had in mind too...

An Official DAPixelhero Website!

Remember the good old days of when I had the old DAPixelhero wix website with all of my projects and merch on it? Well I guess we're going back to those days yet again!

Over the years for the fun of it, I've had the time to learn HTML all over again and I think I want to actually make a full blown website for the channel and content! In my eyes, it something similar to the way Scottgames was ran and looked, but of course, a little more personalized with more things such as maybe hosting 3 videos at a time, and maybe even a blog post! If we weren't underground before, now we definitely will be! I don't know when exactly I'll get around to making it, but I will let you guys know if I get one up over on here and on my socials! I've been trying to do my research on how to host videos on a website, but I know I have limited storage space, so It's gonna be limited. But that's okay! We move the old content to the alts like Odysee and stuff! It's a process that I'm gonna have to learn if all of this goes down, I'm hoping I don't have to worry, but it's truly better to be safe and have a plan than sorry with no plan! I don't plan to do another Wix website again, instead, I plan on doing a neocities! That way, I can have full creative control of the website! Code and all! I'm a big supporter of the indie web, so I'm hoping that all of this censorship will push more people to it! As I believe it opens up a lot of ways to express yourself to the fullest!

How does this affect content?

This is a tough question, and I say that because it comes with a tough to hear answer. I still plan to release the surprise I had planned for Geometry Dash's 12th Anniversary tomorrow (since it isn't a YouTube exclusive thing), and I still plan on slowly making content. However, because of all of this, I have had to move focus onto things that would help produce revenue. Therefore, Nexitron's development had to be halted for just a little while until I got things under control. I know this sucks, but I didn't really have a set date for Chapter Two anyways, so nothing much really has changed, just a bit of a longer wait pushed back into 2026 unfortunately. Same goes for Geometry Dash levels. Both of these things do not generate me any revenue, especially in terms of video showcases and such, I simply just do them for fun. But obviously, I need money to make a living and all that. So it might be a while until you see some actual GD content from me again. So I really hope you guys are enjoying RUSH, because it might be the last level I release for a long while. If you want to blame someone for that, blame YouTube. They're the reason I've had to move my focus to other things.

YouTube is my main source of income for the most part, so if the channel goes down, I'm in deep trouble. However, thankfully 10 years of constant grinding has resulted in me having multiple revenue alternatives! So how could you support me if YouTube goes down?

Merchandise!

I know this is one a lot of people don't like, but I promise you, merchandise sales actually really help me out! I am the sole owner of GRIMKITTY Productions, so not only do DAPixelhero sales help, but GRIMKITTY Productions products do as well! Which applies to basically anything you can find on the GRIMKITTY Store currently! Plus, you get something cool out of it as well!

Donations!

The GRIMKITTY Productions store also has a donation section on it as well! If you want to support me, you can donate any amount you'd like! Donations really help as well, and are all vastly appreciated.

Playing GRIMKITTY Productions Games!

All of our Original IP's give us revenue in some way! Such as Flip Out Rush and the soon to come: "Project: CASE." Playing these games and supporting them help us out as well!

As I've said, there are many ways to help me out, and by helping me out, you contribue to more content to watch, and even play! This affects things like GD levels, Nexitron's development, and YouTube content as well. So if you wanna help me be in a position in which I can continue to do the things I love to do, then I would massively appreciate it. <3

So what now?

YouTube doesn't seem to be changing their mind on this decision, so it's basically a waiting game for doomsday to see what happens. Let's hope things do get better, and this whole censorship campaign on the internet gets completely erased due to the vast majority of backlash. Don't give in to censorship, don't give in to control. Thank you all for the amazing support over the years. Parents, watch what your kids do online and monitor their online activity. Please do not rely on the government to parent your kids, as this results to many factors of censorship and government monitoring. And to YouTube, we understand why this decision was made, but we don't believe it to be a good one. We ask that you reconsider this decision, not only for the sake of creators, but for the sake of YouTube itself, as this could easily kill the platform in a matter of months. And to the governments that want to push this agenda, in all sides of the world, not just the UK and US, the citizens of your countries do not agree with your decisions to try and censor the internet, doing so under the disguise of "helping the children" is wrong, and we all know the true reason for it: censorship, control, monitoring and silencing. It was never about the kids and using kids as a shield for government control is sick. GRIMIKTTY Productions doesn't and will never stand for it, as we stand for the freedom of expression, as that is our company's motto and mission statement.

If the worst does happen and the channel goes down, it was an honor building a community with you all on YouTube, and I couldn't be more grateful for such an amazing audience. DAPixelhero ain't going anywhere though. No matter what happens, I'm coming back bigger and stronger than before. <3

-DAPixelhero, NitroG

Ceo and Owner of GRIMKITTY Productions.