Choose the content tiers your ads run on
Pages on Urban Dictionary are scored and classified, and you choose which tiers your ads can appear on. Pages without a completed review are treated as mature.
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Written by its readers
Every entry comes from someone who uses the word.
Open to write
Anyone with a login can submit a definition. Each entry is dated and credited to its author's handle.
Ranked by votes
Readers vote entries up or down. Vote counts sit beside every definition and set its order on the page.
Many meanings
A word can carry several definitions side by side, so readers see how different people use it.
Content moderation
Urban Dictionary is a user-generated content site. Two separate layers apply: published rules enforced by staff, and automated suitability scoring.
Layer 1
Published rules, enforced by staff
Submissions are checked against published rules before they go live; some are rejected, and published entries can be removed. The rules cover:
- Attacks on private individuals
- Group-based hate or threats
- Content that endangers safety
- Spam, nonsense, or low-quality submissions
Layer 2
Automated suitability scoring
Published definitions are analyzed by an automated content moderation system and scored in 13 harm subcategories. The resulting score sets the page's tier, which buyers use to control where their ads appear.
Three-tier classification
Each page is classified into one of three tiers based on the highest-severity content on the page. The worst definition on the page determines the tier for the entire page.
Safe
Full ad inventory. Content scores below our thresholds in all 13 subcategories.
Examples: "GOAT," "lowkey," "stan"
Sensitive
Served to campaigns that include this tier. Content has elevated scores in one or more categories but does not reach the highest severity.
Cautious advertisers can exclude this tier
Mature
Content exceeds safety thresholds. Advertisers can exclude this tier entirely.
Excluded by partners that buy by tier
5 harm categories, 13 subcategories
Definitions are scored in each subcategory, and those scores set the page's tier.
Sexual Content
2 subcategories
Harassment & Hate
4 subcategories
Violence
2 subcategories
Self-Harm
3 subcategories
Illicit Activities
2 subcategories
Ad placement controls
Your campaign can be limited to the tiers you choose.
Choose your tiers
Impressions carry the page's tier, so a campaign can run on safe pages only, or on safe and sensitive.
Unreviewed content defaults to "mature"
Pages without a completed review are treated as "mature," the most restrictive tier, so they are excluded from campaigns that exclude mature content.
Per-page granularity
Classification is per page, not per site. A word like "brunch" is classified independently from a word like "wasted." Pages outside the tiers you select are excluded from your campaign.
Continuously updated
New submissions are scored as they're published. The classification system runs continuously. It is not a one-time review.
Questions about our brand safety?
We're happy to walk through our moderation system, share threshold details, or discuss custom requirements.