My AdSense account was wrongly disabled by Google. Here’s what happened (and how you can help)

Update:

On 16 September 2025, exactly two months after the issue began, Google reinstated my account! 🎉 I was contacted by YouTube’s Outreach Team who looked into my case more carefully, and shortly after, they confirmed that my account was free of violations and approved it for use.

For anyone curious about the full story, I’ve recorded a video talking through everything. You can watch it on my Patreon (as a a free post, no membership required) here: patreon.com/posts/im-back-google-139101683

On 17 July 2025, Google suddenly disabled my AdSense account, saying “your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies”:

But here is the thing: I have never had a related account that was disabled for violations. That statement is simply not true.

Since then, I’ve done everything I can: submitted appeals, contacted support multiple times, and explained the situation as clearly and calmly as possible — but nothing has worked. Most of the replies I’ve received have been automated or scripted, and it still doesn’t seem like anyone has fully reviewed my case. As a small creator, it’s been incredibly hard to break through and reach someone with the authority to actually help resolve the issue.

On this page, I’ve put together the full story – a breakdown of what happened, what I’ve tried so far, similar cases I found online, and answers to some common questions.

Please, I need your help. If you know someone who might be able to help, or if you can help push the story further, please reach out. More on that below.

What is what

First, let me quickly explain what all this means, just in case you’re not familiar with YouTube creator jargon.

In a nutshell, creators are people who make and publish videos on YouTube. To support them, YouTube has a system called the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). To join the program, a channel needs to meet certain requirements: reaching 500 subscribers and 3,000 hours of watch time for the first milestone, and later 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours for the main one.

Once you are in the Partner Program, you can enable various monetisation features like channel memberships, super chats, and paid stickers. But the main benefit is ad revenue, where YouTube places ads on your videos and shares a portion of that income with you.

To receive that income, creators need to link their YouTube channel to a Google AdSense account. AdSense is a separate Google service that handles payments, and it works with YouTube in tandem. It’s where your YouTube ad revenue goes before it gets paid out to your bank account.

Full breakdown

Now, let me share what happened and how it all connects to me.

On 8 April, I launched a new YouTube channel called Think Gaming where I share board games guides and playthroughs, a small hobby I’ve been passionate about. The channel was received really well by the board gaming community, and in just under three months, I reached the eligibility requirements to join the YouTube Partner Program:

Post I shared with YouTube community on 4 July

As part of joining the program, I needed to link an AdSense account, as explained above. At this point, I remembered (well, 1Password reminded me) that I already had some old AdSense login credentials.

Here, allow me a quick detour to explain the nature of that old account. To be honest, it’s a bit off-topic – but I want to share everything step by step. I have no reason to believe this played any part in what happened, so I’m including it here just in case.

About ten years ago, I started another YouTube channel under my DJ and music producer alias, Daniel Lesden. Preemptively, I created an AdSense account, thinking I’d need it, but I quickly realised I wouldn’t be monetising my music videos, so that account remained completely inactive for all these years, without a single action. At the time, I lived in Israel, so the account was associated with that country. I also used my main email address – the one I use for all Google services.

Back to the present day: when I tried to link my new YouTube channel to that old AdSense account, I couldn’t – because of a country mismatch. I now live in the UK, and AdSense doesn’t allow you to change your country. So I followed the official instructions, closed the old AdSense account, and created a new one:

Support article of AdSense explaining that you need to close and open a new account if you moved to a new country

After digging through my inbox, I noticed that my new AdSense account was created just a few hours before I officially closed the old one. I can’t say for sure if this matters – the timing was part of the same transition, and both actions happened within a very short window. I was clearly in the process of switching over. I’ll add screenshots of the two emails below to show the timestamps, as I hope this helps demonstrate that my intention was simply to close one account and move to another. I’m sharing this just in case it’s relevant:

New account created – 3 July at 06:50

Old account closed – 3 July at 09:41

With the new AdSense account, I was successfully accepted into the YouTube Partner Program (and it felt amazing):

"Think Gaming, congrats! 🎉 You’ve been accepted into the YouTube Partner Program"

Since the new AdSense was tied to a different login, switching between Google accounts was a bit inconvenient. So just for convenience, I added my old email address (the one previously associated with the old AdSense account I had closed) as a user to the new AdSense account:

Adding my new email as a new user for inconvenient

Again, I want to emphasise that I have no idea whether this had any impact on the issue. But as I said, I’m sharing everything here for full transparency. And for what it’s worth, when I added my old email as a user, AdSense allowed it with no issues or warnings whatsoever – which, according to their own documentation, wouldn’t have happened if that email were still associated with a disabled account.

Two weeks later, on 17 July, I received two emails – one from AdSense saying that my Publisher Account had been disabled for the reason “your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies”, and another from YouTube saying that partnership had been disabled:

The email from AdSense

The email from YouTube

What I tried to resolve it

First and foremost, I want to say it again, even if I’m repeating myself: I have never had a related account that was disabled for violations. As per Google’s own support article, closing an old account and opening a new one after moving countries is the recommended process, which is exactly what I followed. If adding a new user (my old email) is somehow considered a violation, I apologise – but that sounds like a technical issue, not something done with bad intent, especially given that the action was purely administrative and not intended to manipulate or misuse the system in any way. For reference, here is the full AdSense programme policies – and I’ve reviewed them carefully and genuinely can’t see how I would’ve violated any of them.

And even if my new account is technically “related” to the old one due to that shared email, the claim that it’s “related to an account that was disabled for violations” is still not true, because the old account had no violations of any kind, and I’ve always acted in good faith. In fact, I hadn’t even used AdSense in any capacity. My account was disabled before it earned a penny – it was literally just created, and that’s it. Which only adds to the surreal feeling of the whole situation.

What surprised me most is that AdSense doesn’t have any direct human support, at least not for newer or lower-profile creators like me. No chat, no email, just help articles. The only route I found was through YouTube Support (more on that below).

To be clear, I completely understand that enforcement systems need to exist – and I genuinely respect the work that goes into making those systems fair and scalable. I’m not trying to blame anyone here. I just believe something may have gone wrong in my specific case, and I’m hoping this page might give it a better chance of being properly seen and understood by a human.

In the email about my account being disabled, they said I could appeal the decision and gave me this apeal form. So I submitted the appeal through the form, explaining everything honestly, just like I’m doing on this page.

On a side note: the form includes this line: “You should take care to ensure that your account is free of policy violations before you submit your appeal”. But how exactly am I supposed to do that, if the entire point of the appeal is to contest the claim that there were violations in the first place? It’s a confusing and circular instruction that highlights how difficult the appeal process is.

A confusing instruction of the appeal form

Still, I submitted my appeal – and within seconds, I received this auto-reply:

Generic auto-reply from my appeals, which I receive after each try

It’s clearly a generic response. But more importantly, it says my appeal wasn’t even processed. It lists possible reasons, but none of them apply to me.

Let’s break them down:

  1. “We were unable to confirm your AdSense account with the information that you’ve provided as the publisher ID does not appear to be valid.”
    I triple-checked, and the publisher ID is absolutely, 100% correct.
  2. “Our records show that your account is still active.”
    I'm afraid not. The email I received said my account was disabled. When I log in to AdSense, it says: “Your account has been closed by Google.” I’m not sure if there is any technical difference between “disabled” and “closed,” but either way, it’s certainly not active.
  3. “According to our records, the information that you’ve provided is associated with an account which has been either closed or disapproved but not disabled due to policy reasons.”
    Again, incorrect. The email I received said the account was disabled for policy reasons.
  4. “We were unable to confirm your AdSense account with the information that you’ve provided.”
    Same as point 1. Everything I entered was correct.
  5. “According to our records, we found that your account has been disabled due to invalid click activity.”
    I didn’t even know what that meant at first, so I had to google it. Apparently, it refers to clicking on your own ads, or using bots to generate fake clicks. Since I never ran any ads, and never earned any revenue, this doesn’t apply to me in any way.

Jumping ahead, I'll say right away that I managed to get a reply from a YouTube manager who confirmed that the automated response I’ve been receiving means my appeal was never actually registered by their system. I won’t share a screenshot of that conversation for privacy reasons, but that was the explanation I was given. Which means that after more than a month of submitting appeals, chatting with support, and following every official step, none of my appeals were processed or even reached the appropriate team. It’s a frustrating situation that I hope highlights just how unclear and difficult the appeal process can be.

YouTube support

So next, I tried reaching out to YouTube support to explain that I was only getting generic auto-replies and couldn’t even get my appeal through.

In today’s AI-heavy world, getting through to a real person is harder than you’d think. Eventually, I managed to chat with someone – though, as strange as it sounds, I’m still not entirely sure if I was speaking to an actual person or an AI assistant.

First, they asked me to resubmit the appeal form. So I did. Then we double-checked all the information I’d entered. Then they asked me to record a screen capture of myself submitting the form, to prove everything was being filled in correctly. I followed every instruction.

Same result: the exact same auto-reply.

At one point, I was told to wait 30 days – apparently, the form might be “locked” during that time, which could explain why my appeal hadn’t gone through.

So I waited. Submitted again after 30 days.

Same auto-reply. Again.

When I followed up, one person said they didn’t have the authority to overturn AdSense decisions. Another said the decision was final. Then someone else said I now had to wait 90 days before trying again – even though the appeal never actually reached anyone the first time, so I wasn’t sure what the 90-day gap was meant to be between.

On Reddit, several people suggested I try contacting YouTube Support on X. So I did. And they directed me to a form for appealing invalid traffic, something entirely unrelated to my case. It felt like yet another scripted answer that didn’t apply to the actual problem.

In the end, the responses from support have felt contradictory and unclear. Everyone I spoke to seemed friendly and empathetic, but unfortunately, most support agents just don’t seem to have the authority to resolve AdSense-related issues directly, so I can’t blame them. But in my position, I feel completely stuck.

Oh, and did I mention I even sent physical letters to Google? Real mail, with stamps. One to their main US headquarters, and another to Google UK. I know the chances of those letters being opened, let alone read or passed to the right team, are close to zero. But I thought I’d try anyway. But I thought I’d try anyway, which probably just shows how powerless and desperate someone in my shoes can feel in a situation like this.

Not an isolated case

In trying to understand what happened and how to fix it, I quickly discovered I’m not alone. It turns out there are dozens of similar cases out there, and that’s just the ones I’ve managed to find on Reddit and X. Here are just two example threads: AdSense disabled by mistake at 75k subscribers and Stuck in Appeal Loop, and each one describes a situation almost identical to mine.

In several of these cases, the common factor I noticed was the use of a virtual office address. Since these types of addresses are shared by many unrelated businesses, it’s possible the system mistakenly detects a “relation” to a previously disabled account used by someone else. I’m also using a virtual office address myself (which is a common practice, especially for solo directors), and I genuinely wonder if that might be a factor in my case. I’ve asked YouTube support about this, but haven’t received a reply – and to be honest, I don’t expect one, as they tend to avoid any questions about the specifics behind the account block.

I’ve spoken directly to several other people in the same situation, and a few said their accounts were eventually reinstated – but only after persistent follow-ups and, crucially, after raising public attention. One of them is Luke, who told me that his issue was only resolved because he had a large following on X and received retweets from big accounts, which helped bring serious visibility to the case. I’ll leave a link to one of his tweets here. That gives me a bit of hope, though as a small creator without that kind of reach, I know it’ll likely take much longer and be a much tougher road.

Why this matters to me

For me, Think Gaming and this whole creator path is more than just a YouTube channel. After being forced to leave my home country in 2022 due to the ongoing geopolitical conflict, and more recently losing both my mum and grandpa, I found myself in a long period of self-reflection. One of the mental exercises that helped me during that time was Ikigai – the Japanese concept of purpose. I asked myself what I’d enjoy doing next.

After some ideas and experiments, I landed on starting a board gaming channel as a way to share my passion and help others discover great games. I love playing board games with my son, and it’s been especially meaningful to share this hobby with others – particularly after the recent losses in our family. I’m not building anything extraordinary or changing the world, but I do try to contribute something small and joyful to the community. And from the feedback I’ve received so far, it seems to resonate with people.

As I mentioned earlier, my AdSense account never even had the chance to earn a single penny. And given the niche I’ve chosen, I don’t expect to make much from ads even if the channel grows, so it’s clearly not about the money. But being wrongly cut off from this path I’ve been building has been incredibly frustrating, especially knowing I’ve done nothing wrong. It just sucks. It really does.

The whole situation just feels wrong. It doesn’t seem fair to cut someone off from their dream, without warning, and without a real chance to make things right. I’m not a philanthropist, and I don’t have the resources to become one, but if I do manage to restore my account, I hope it offers a bit of hope to others facing something similar. And if I can help someone else avoid this mess, I’ll gladly do what I can.

A bit more about me

While I’m a relatively new creator on YouTube, I’ve been professionally involved in the creative industry for over a decade. I hold a UK Global Talent visa, granted based on my track record and public reputation. Over the years, I’ve built a career grounded in trust, transparency, and doing things properly – and I’ve always taken pride in that.

If needed, I’m happy to provide letters of recommendation, credentials, or anything else to show that I’ve always acted in good faith.

You can also visit my personal website or check out my LinkedIn profile for more background.

How you can help

First of all, thank you for reading this.

From what I’ve gathered from others in the same boat who eventually managed to get their accounts reinstated, the only thing that truly seems to help is visibility. Please help to spread the word:

There’s no guarantee, but raising visibility on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) has made all the difference in other cases. In fact, as others have shared, getting enough attention might be the only way these kinds of issues ever reach the right people. The more eyes on this, the more likely it is that someone at AdSense or Google might actually take a proper look. All I’m asking for is a fair chance.

If you are a journalist, influencer, or someone in a position to help, please reach out. And if you are a fellow creator stuck in the same situation – don’t hesitate to get in touch either, maybe we can support each other.

Contact

Frequently Asked Questions

Some viewers and fellow creators have asked fair questions, so I’ll do my best to answer them all here. I’ll keep this section updated as more questions come in, so check back occasionally.

Q: Your channel doesn’t even have 1,000 subscribers. Are you sure you were in the YouTube Partner Program?

Yep, 100%. You can see the email above: “You’ve been accepted into the YouTube Partner Program”. I even had a few people join as paid channel members, since Membership was the first perk available to me. However, ad revenue only starts at 1,000 subscribers, which my channel hasn’t reached yet, indeed. As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t actually used AdSense in any capacity, it was literally just set up and that’s it, which only adds to how bizarre the situation is.

Q: I’m sure Google explained what went wrong?

Unfortunately, no. The only reason I’ve ever been given is: “your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies”. That’s it. Despite multiple attempts to get more context, I’ve received no further explanation. Since I’ve never had a related account that was disabled for violations, I can only guess. Was I flagged because I closed and created a new account? Because I added my old email as a secondary user? Because I used a virtual office address? Or because of something else entirely? I genuinely have no idea!

Q: Have you tried to appeal?

That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past six weeks (and counting). I submitted an appeal on day one, and many more since, but the form just instantly returns a generic auto-reply, which I’ve shared above. I’ve sent around two dozen detailed, thoughtful emails to YouTube support, had multiple live chats, reached out to companies and creators, and spent hours researching… and nothing has worked so far. Support keeps asking me to submit the same form, even though it bounces back every time, and so I’ve been stuck in a frustrating loop of generic responses, with none of my appeals ever reaching the actual team that handles these issues. That’s why I’m asking for your help in any way you can.

Q: Why don’t you just create a new channel?

That’s the catch. If I create a new account after having one disabled, it will likely get disabled too. Guess why? Because then it would be “related to an account that was disabled for violations” – this time for real, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I’ve never violated any policies, and I don’t want to start now. So creating a new channel isn’t really an option. In practice, it feels like the disablement affects not just the account, but also me as an individual – which makes it very difficult to find a way forward.

Q: Can’t you just keep making videos without AdSense?

Technically, yes. My YouTube channel is still live, so I can publish videos. But there are a couple of issues. First, knowing I’ll never be able to earn a penny from YouTube, even ten years later and even if the channel grows massively, is pretty disheartening. And second (and more importantly), some creators have shared concerns that a channel marked with a policy violation might be affected in visibility or reach. I haven’t seen any official confirmation of this, but it’s really worrying. I’d be gutted to keep putting huge effort into creating thoughtful, high-quality videos, only to discover they’re not being shown to people. I’m absolutely fine with my videos underperforming or earning nothing, as long as that’s the natural outcome, not the result of being wrongly penalised.

Q: Can you use alternative monetisation options, like Patreon?

I do have a couple of amazing people supporting me on Patreon, and I’m really grateful for that. But without the audience reach of YouTube, Patreon is only seen by a handful of people – so unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a viable option long-term.

Q: If it’s not just about the money, why pause creating videos in the meantime?

I think what not many people realise is just how much time it takes to make videos. Between preparing, setting up, filming (often multiple takes), editing, making the thumbnail, publishing, etc., each video easily takes 10 to 20 hours for. I also have a job to pay the bills, family commitments, and other things going on, so those extra 10–20 hours are basically the maximum I can realistically fit into my week. I’m not complaining; in fact, I’ve been happy to put that much effort in, especially seeing how positively the community has responded. But now, with everything going on, I’ve been spending almost the same amount of time each week just trying to get this situation resolved: talking to support, chasing leads, emailing people, trying anything I can to push the story further. But it's more than just the time constraint. More than that, it’s been extremely mentally draining. I just can’t keep making new content while there’s this huge unresolved issue hanging over everything, a hole that is sinking my whole passion project. It’s exhausting. Honestly, I think I’m getting close to burnout or even depression. And for a bit of personal context: Google disabled my account exactly one week after my mum suddenly passed away, so you can probably imagine the emotional toll all of this is taking.

Q: Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel with this situation?

I was close to giving up at one point, but then I discovered there are dozens of people stuck in the exact same situation, and most importantly, a few of them actually managed to get their accounts restored. They said they get their accounts back only after raising visibility on X (and YouTube Outreach Team eventually stepped in), so I’m holding onto that small ray of hope too, since there are precedents like that. The problem is, I don’t have much of a following, so it’s really hard to get serious traction on my posts. That’s why I’m asking for help spreading the word in any way you can.

Q: What is the YouTube Outreach Team? Can’t you just contact them?

Honestly, I don’t know. There is almost no public information about this team, and no direct way to contact them. From what I’ve gathered from other creators, the YouTube Outreach Team seems to refer to an internal escalation or community team that isn’t accessible through regular support. In the cases I’ve seen, they only stepped in after the issue gained public visibility or when someone with influence helped advocate. But that’s just my understanding, based on others’ experiences.

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