Help Center / Vimeo Guidelines

A practical and ethical guide to using Vimeo (and attaining enlightenment).

Community Guidelines

Be cool and play nice.

The Internet is a pretty cool place, but it also gives people the means to insult and/or harass others without taking full responsibility for their words. We request, nay— we insist! — that while you are on Vimeo you respect the people you encounter, as well as their videos. You are free to disagree and/or provide critical feedback, but please keep it respectful.

Don’t spam or disrupt Vimeo.

The best way to encourage others to watch your videos is to participate in the community. You should also watch and comment on other people’s videos, follow people, join Groups, and follow Channels related to your interests. Oh, and don’t send unsolicited mass messages. And please don’t flood Vimeo with videos uploaded by a robot or a robot-like human in a manner that will disrupt people’s experience here.

If you’re uploading commercial or business content, make sure you read our Commercial Content Guidelines as well. Thanks!

Video Guidelines

Upload only videos you created yourself.

  • You must own or hold all necessary rights (copyrights, etc.) to your video.
  • “So-and-so gave me permission” does not mean you created it.
  • You can upload videos that you appear in or helped create (as director, DP, editor, musician, motion graphics artist, actor, etc.) as long as you have the necessary permissions from the copyright holders.
  • Please add your role in the video description to avoid deletion.
  • Exception! Vimeo PRO members can upload videos they did not create as long as they hold the necessary rights and permissions.

You cannot upload certain types of content:

  • No rips of movies, music, television, or any other third party copyrighted material. Read more about copyright and fair use.
  • No sexually explicit material or pornography. (Artistic and non-sexual nudity is allowed. Read more.)
  • No videos that are hateful, harass others, or include defamatory or discriminatory speech. Read more.
  • No videos that depict or promote unlawful acts, extreme or real-life violence, self-harm, or cruelty toward animals.
  • No screen-captures of video games or gameplay videos, even if edited. (Exception! Game developers can upload examples of their own work. Machinima videos with a story also are allowed, but must be labeled as such in the video description to avoid deletion.)

Commercial Content Guidelines

Businesses may not use Vimeo Basic or Vimeo Plus to host videos. If you want to upload videos with a commercial intent, you must use Vimeo PRO.

Commercial content includes:

  • Videos promoting or representing a for-profit business or brand.
  • Videos containing any form of advertising.
  • Videos hosted on behalf of a business (e.g., uploaded to Vimeo and embedded on your company’s website).
  • Content that you intend to sell.
  • Product demos and tutorials.

If the videos you’re uploading fit any of these descriptions, you must use Vimeo PRO.

Exception! If you’re an independent production company, artist, or non-profit, you may use any account type (Basic, Plus, or PRO) to showcase your creative work.

There are certain types of commercial content we never allow.

  • You may not upload videos pertaining to multi-level marketing (MLM), affiliate programs, get-rich-quick schemes, cash gifting, work-from-home gigs, or similar ventures.
  • You may not upload spam or flood Vimeo with videos intended to drive traffic to your website.

Commercial videos that may be disruptive to Vimeo viewers’ experience should remain private.

  • Vimeo is a place to share and discover amazing videos. Commercial content that adversely affects on-site video discovery (e.g., by flooding search results) should remain private.
  • If you’re uploading lots of similar, promotional videos (e.g., product demos), please keep these videos private.
  • Videos focused on short term sales (e.g., real estate walk-throughs) should also remain private.

Private Mode: PRO members can use Private Mode to easily hide their videos from Vimeo.com. Learn more about hosting and sharing private videos.

Businesses in the Vimeo Community:

Businesses can share their videos on Vimeo, but cannot use comments, private messages, or the Vimeo Forum for promotional purposes.

Violations

Violations of any Vimeo Guidelines may lead to the removal of your videos and/or your Vimeo account. Learn how to report a violation

Our Community

Vimeo was founded in 2004 by people who wanted to share creative work and personal moments from their lives. As time went on, other likeminded individuals discovered Vimeo and helped build a supportive community covering a wide range of interests. In other words, Vimeo is a community of real, amazing humans, and the Vimeo Guidelines help us keep that magical humanity alive. We hope this environment inspires you to create and contribute in positive ways.

Thanks a billion for being a part of Vimeo and helping us keep the Internet’s most awesome community of creative people really, uh, awesome. (You guys are the creative people — come up with something better!)