DeviantArt is an expansive, worldwide community of artists young and old who create works spanning every medium, subject, level of talent, and skill.

As the guiding force of this large and vibrant community, we have two primary and often conflicting goals in the service we provide for you, the members of the community. The first is to ensure that members are free to express themselves within reason with as few restrictions as possible while nurturing an environment of creativity, learning, and talent, while the second is to protect the members of the community – to the best of our abilities – from copyright infringement, discrimination, harassment, and prejudice.

These guidelines set out the standards that govern all visual and written content submitted to DeviantArt, and are comprised of 3 basic pillars:

DeviantArt is a platform devoted to creative expression, and its policies recognize that sometimes creative works can occasionally be considered objectionable or offensive to some viewers while that same content is considered to be inoffensive or safe to other viewers. DeviantArt also recognizes that certain categories and types of content are objectionable and should not be allowed on the platform. That's why this set of guidelines was created: to clarify what content may or may not be allowed on the platform.

DeviantArt does not pre-approve content and only monitors it for security or safety reasons. However, if DeviantArt receives a valid notice justifying a deviation removal or decides that content is not in compliance with our Terms of Service and/or these guidelines and/or any of our other policies, we reserve the right to act upon it and remove any illegal and/or non-compliant content immediately, with or without prior notice to the deviant, as appropriate and required by law.

Deviants agree and understand that these are a set of general guidelines. DeviantArt reserves the right to update and modify them as required and to interpret it at DeviantArt’s sole discretion.

Deviants demonstrating unacceptable behavior, whether by failure to obey DeviantArt policies and these guidelines or by engaging in abusive or disruptive community activity, can be subject to disciplinary action in the form of a temporary account suspension or the complete termination of an account.

Submitted content should not infringe third party rights and should be content you have explicit legal rights to share.

Where relevant, you should credit collaborators, referenced resources, and creators on your deviation.

In addition to these guidelines, please also refer to the DeviantArt Submission Policy, available here. 

At DeviantArt, we know copyright is an important and serious topic for a community of artists, authors, and creatives. DeviantArt respects copyright holders and expects deviants to do the same.

For your convenience, you'll find our copyright policy linked on the bottom of most pages on DeviantArt.com and can be directly accessed here. 

DeviantArt complies with the procedures laid out in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

To file a copyright infringement notice, use the web form here.

Please include in your notice an identification of the copyrighted work, URL of infringing content, your contact information, a good-faith statement, and your signature.

Counter-notices are accepted in accordance with DMCA procedures. If you want to send DeviantArt a counter notice, please use this form.

Under Section 512(f) of the Copyright Act, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification may be subject to liability.

DeviantArt uses a tiered content-classification system. There are boundaries put in place to define what content is acceptable, and where that content can be submitted, for the safety and well-being of all deviants. Deviants must accurately label their content at the time of submission, and should only submit their content where permitted:

Get more guidance on what should be labelled as “mature” content here.

Get more guidance on DeviantArt’s policy around sexual, erotic, and fetish themes here.

Get more guidance on DeviantArt’s policy on violent and graphic content here.

DeviantArt complies with the Take It Down Act. Any identifiable individual depicted in Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) — or their authorized representative – may submit a removal request. Requests can be submitted here.

DeviantArt has a zero-tolerance policy with regard to child exploitation or offensive or graphic content, including, but not limited to:

DeviantArt is legally and morally obligated to report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to cooperate with law enforcement investigations. There are no warnings, appeals, or exceptions for CSAM.

DeviantArt recommends, if applicable, obtaining signed model release forms for all photography featuring identifiable individuals, especially for nude or semi-nude photography. 

Photographs depicting minors in any sexualized, suggestive, or inappropriate context are strictly and absolutely prohibited. This applies regardless of whether the photograph was originally taken with innocent intent. Artistic nude photography of minors is prohibited on the platform.

DeviantArt strives to be a community accepting of a wide range of creative works and support freedom of expression, but with themes involving negativity, we place boundaries to divide content and posts into acceptable and unacceptable categories, as the DeviantArt Terms of Service specifically prohibits certain types of offensive or objectionable posts. 

Posts can be classified as hate speech due to a focus which attacks a person or group on the basis of race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Hate speech can be a comment, a gesture or conduct, writing, or image submission which incites violence or prejudicial action or because it disparages or intimidates a protected group, or individual on the basis of one of the previously mentioned qualifiers of race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.

Specific prohibitions include:

DeviantArt does not allow violent organizations, including terrorist groups, violent extremist groups, or individuals who support and promote illegal activities. These groups and individuals pose a threat to the safety and well-being of others through their violence or promotion of violence.

 

Our evaluation of these organizations is based on national and international terrorism designations and our criteria for violent extremist groups and organizations do not necessarily match the definition established by other organizations. We will not tolerate threats or promotion of terrorism or violent extremism on our platform. We also consider groups that identify as extremist and use or promote violence, and groups that systematically target civilians with violence, as violent organizations. We may evaluate a group's activities on and off our platform to determine if they meet these criteria.

Deviants shall not transmit, display, upload, publish or otherwise make available any content in relation to illegal goods and services, or content that violates any laws in relation to regulated goods and services. This includes offering, selling, buying, or facilitating transactions in such illegal or regulated goods or services.

 

Goods and services covered under this policy include, but are not limited to:

DeviantArt does not permit content that depicts, glorifies, promotes, or instructs real-world cruelty or abuse toward animals.

The following are prohibited:

DeviantArt does not always remove content that contains negative or accusing language or commentary, including negative feedback and reviews given to both individuals and companies. 

DeviantArt is not in a position to evaluate and judge the accuracy of certain statements, reviews, feedback, or other specific content that was published on our platform. For this reason, DeviantArt requires either a valid court order or a sufficiently substantiated takedown notice in cases of content removal requests targeting allegedly false, inaccurate, slanderous, or otherwise infringing statements. 

Bullying and harassment are more than just criticism or differences of opinion. 

Deviants should not transmit, display, upload, publish, or otherwise make available any content with the purpose of portraying or humiliating any individual in a negative or disparaging light, without their prior explicit approval.

The DeviantArt Etiquette Policy is a set of guidelines intended to advise members of the standards of behavior expected while making use of the DeviantArt community which should assist them in avoiding social conflicts and other issues which may arise due to the manner in which they make use of their DeviantArt Profile.

A direct link to the Etiquette Policy is linked from the bottom of most pages of DeviantArt and can also be accessed here. 

Privacy is a fundamental human right recognized by international law and protected by many regulations worldwide. 

Deviants should not publish or post Content with other people's private information without their express prior consent.

Privacy is an important concern, and the DeviantArt Privacy Policy provides information on what information is collected during your time visiting the DeviantArt platform, whether that information might be kept anonymous or be personally identifiable as belonging to you, and how both kinds of that information might be used or shared.

The Privacy Policy for DeviantArt is linked from the bottom of most pages of DeviantArt and can also be directly accessed here.

Self-harm is a serious topic and although content might be posted in an attempt to bring the topic to light and promote honest discussion, DeviantArt is not the proper platform for seeking assistance with this very serious issue and is not equipped to provide mental health support.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please contact a crisis support service in your country.

Content that promotes, glorifies, or provides detailed instruction on methods of self-harm or suicide is prohibited.

DeviantArt believes in an internet free of phishing, spam, or inappropriate and unethical messages.

Deviants should not use the platform in connection with any form of spam, unsolicited mail, fraud, scam, phishing, “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or similar conduct, or otherwise engage in unethical marketing or advertising.

Using DeviantArt accounts as a means of for-profit third-party advertising is prohibited. Accordingly, third-party advertising of any sort can be removed without notice when brought to the attention of the DeviantArt team, and accounts primarily or exclusively used for this purpose can be suspended without warning.

Company advertising efforts that go beyond an individual deviant promoting their own personal endeavors must be done in partnership with DeviantArt. For more information, please visit DeviantArt’s partnerships page.