Help & FAQ
Short answers for YouTube creators. 3 free trial scans. Pro from £4.99/month (UK) or $6.99/month (US). Scores are AI-assisted analysis — not legal advice.
How it works
No installation. No legal expertise required. Sign in, paste a video URL, and GuardMyVideos does the rest.
Sign in with Google
Create a free account to run scans on our shared YouTube quota. We never post, delete, or modify anything on YouTube — we only read public video metadata and captions for the URL you paste.
Choose what you’re scanning
Say whether the URL is your own upload (find copies) or a link you’re checking (suspected reupload, edited clip, or any public video). Paste the YouTube URL — GuardMyVideos searches for candidate matches across six independent comparison signals (plus metadata-vs-narration when captions exist).
AI analyses six signals
Each candidate is scored on title, description, tags, transcript, narration style, and thumbnail imagery when YouTube thumbnails load. With captions, we also check whether metadata matches what is said. The combined score reflects how likely a match is a copy.
Review your results and act
Matches are ranked High Risk, Possible, or Low Risk. You check the top of the shortlist — not a long YouTube scroll. You see which signals fired, then use that evidence with YouTube’s official complaint forms. On Pro, a DMCA helper lists what to gather first.
Signal categories are public. Weighting thresholds, candidate scan counts, and scoring logic are kept confidential to prevent evasion.
Six-signal AI analysis
Six comparisons feed your overall risk score; with captions we also flag metadata that doesn't match the narration.
Title similarity
Exact matches and reworded copies
Description match
Shared phrases and structure
Tag & keyword overlap
Copied metadata patterns
Transcript comparison
Spoken word similarity
Narration patterns
Speech style and phrasing
Thumbnail comparison
Visual similarity of official stills when available
Built for YouTube video creators
If you make original video content and publish it on YouTube, this is for you.
Tutorial & how-to creators
Someone re-uploads your step-by-step guide word for word
News & commentary channels
Your analysis gets ripped and reposted under a different thumbnail
Gaming & entertainment creators
Your original edits appear on clone channels
Business & education channels
Your courses and explainers get stolen for ad revenue
⚠️ Not the right tool for
Most creators find out their content was stolen by accident
A comment, a dip in views, or an evening of scrolling YouTube search. There isn't a simple “show me the likely copies, ranked” workflow for everyday channels. GuardMyVideos searches, scores six signals, and hands you a shortlist instead of another results page.
What GuardMyVideos does: We search YouTube for similar uploads and score them with AI across titles, descriptions, tags, transcripts, speech-style signals, and thumbnails when available — including re-edited or re-voiced versions.
Free tools are everywhere — most don't hunt your copies
- “Is this video AI?” checkers judge whether footage looks synthetic. That is not the same as discovering channels that copied your script or re-edited your upload.
- Transcribers, summarizers, and clip makers help you repurpose content. They don't run a dedicated search-and-compare pass against your originals.
- Pre-upload “copyright check” tools often focus on clearing your file before you publish. That is different from finding copies after you're live.
- YouTube's own match features help many channels, but access and coverage aren't identical for everyone. See the side-by-side comparison with the Copyright Match Tool.
Common questions
Do I have to scroll through lots of videos to find copies?▼
No. GuardMyVideos searches and scores candidates for you, then ranks them High Risk, Possible Match, or Low Risk. You start at the top of that shortlist instead of paging through YouTube search. You still watch the flagged matches if you want to act — we just cut the endless scroll.
How is GuardMyVideos different from YouTube's Copyright Match Tool?▼
YouTube's Copyright Match Tool is free and official, but only available to channels in the YouTube Partner Programme — and it mainly catches full re-uploads. GuardMyVideos works on any channel and uses six AI signals to surface edited, re-voiced, and script-stolen copies. If you're eligible, use both. Compare with YouTube's Copyright Match Tool →
Is GuardMyVideos a pre-upload music copyright checker?▼
No. Tools that scan your audio before upload — checking whether background music will trigger a Content ID claim — solve a different problem. GuardMyVideos finds other channels that copied your video after it's live: re-uploads, edited clips, re-voiced scripts, and stolen titles or thumbnails.
Is it really free to try?▼
Yes. New accounts get 3 free scans on our shared YouTube quota. After that, upgrade to Pro for full features and higher limits — on Pro you can optionally add your YouTube API key if you want your own quota.
What happens after my 3 free scans?▼
Subscribe to Pro for PDF reports, full history, detailed upload copyright risk analysis (keywords, explanations, safer keyword rewrites), a DMCA checklist (what to gather before YouTube’s form), email alerts for high-risk matches, and higher daily limits. On Pro, you can optionally add your own YouTube Data API key if you want scans to use your personal quota.
How long does a scan take?▼
Most scans complete in 20–40 seconds depending on how many candidate videos are found and whether transcripts are available.
Does this prove copyright infringement?▼
No. GuardMyVideos provides similarity scores as indicators — not legal determinations. You should consult a lawyer if you believe your content has been stolen.
What if my video doesn't have captions?▼
No problem — we'll still compare titles, descriptions, tags, and narration patterns. Transcripts add an extra layer of accuracy but aren't required.
Is this for music creators or producers?▼
No. GuardMyVideos is specifically for YouTube video creators — tutorials, commentary, gaming, education, vlogs and similar video content. We don't detect audio copying, music sampling, or anything related to the music or film industry.
Can a thief evade detection?▼
Honestly — sometimes, yes. Copies with rewritten titles, stripped tags, and no captions are harder to catch, because several of our signals rely on text. Thumbnail comparison and narration-pattern analysis help close that gap, but no tool — ours included — can guarantee every disguised copy is found. We'd rather tell you that upfront than promise perfect detection.
Who is behind GuardMyVideos?▼
GuardMyVideos is built and operated by Ellan, a sole trader registered in England. Questions? Email contact@guardmyvideos.com.
Still stuck? Email contact@guardmyvideos.com
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