Platform Factsheet: YouTube

Last updated: 2022-11-28

This platform-specific fact sheet is intended to provide researchers with tips and resources to get started using YouTube data in their research.

Researchers should be aware that these platforms can and do change over time. Therefore, for the most up to date information, please refer to YouTube Data API's official documentation. The links below are helpful starting points.

Is there an API?

Yes

Is there a Terms of Service?

Yes

Developer guides and documentation

YouTube API v.3 documentation

Basic information about the API

A Google Account and YouTube Data API key are required to access the Data API.

YouTube Data API controls API rate limits via a quota system, whereby each request, valid or invalid, incurs a quota cost of at least one point. Different endpoints will use up different quota costs. Refer to YouTube Data API's documentation for more details on costs of each endpoint.

A free Google Account is allocated 10,000 points per day, which reset at midnight Pacific Time. You can complete an Audit and Quota Extension form to request additional quota on top of your default allocation.

Tools