DeviantArt is a community 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.

Content posted by members of DeviantArt can contain themes which some viewers may wish to otherwise avoid; controversial political or religious opinion, violence, gore, strong language, nudity or even themes involving sexual content. These subject matters, among others, are considered to be “mature content” under DeviantArt policies.

To ensure everyone has a pleasant and enjoyable browsing experience, content containing these subject matters needs to be labeled as mature during the submission process.

Because comments and posts (status updates, polls, and journals) as well as public text such as Gallery or Collection titles cannot be marked as mature content, any material found to be mature content in comments or posts is subject to deletion.

If you see content that violates the aforementioned policies, report the deviation or post so the team can handle it, and if you have a question or concern, please contact DeviantArt Customer Support.

Personal and group avatars are not allowed to contain mature content of any kind.

Labeling your work as mature is straightforward and also required when you submit your artwork to DeviantArt. To do so, click the Mature checkbox in the "Label options" section of the submission page when submitting a new deviation or editing your existing deviations.

When submitting an image with Mature Content as part of a multi-image deviation, the deviation must be labeled as containing Mature Content, even if the remaining images in the deviation are not.

Deviations that are labeled as containing Mature Content may be hidden or blurred for logged-out visitors, as well as deviants who have selected Safe or Standard Mode for their browsing mode settings.

When creating or editing a Subscription tier, you can adjust that tier’s settings to reflect whether or not it contains Mature Content. If the tier is not marked as containing Mature Content, anyone can view and subscribe to that tier, but if you mark your tier as containing Mature Content, only deviants over 18 years old will be able to view and subscribe. 

Double-check your tier settings to make sure they’re set for an appropriate audience. DeviantArt may review your tier and take administrative action if your Mature Content settings are inaccurate.

If you sell artwork featuring mature content, the cover and preview images for these artworks for sale must still abide by the Terms of Service and follow specific rules: