Feature eligibility

Every channel starts on standard features. Verifying a phone number unlocks the intermediate tier, which is where custom thumbnails, live streaming and uploads longer than fifteen minutes live. The advanced tier needs stronger proof of identity, either video or ID verification, or a channel history of around two months, and it covers appealing claims, higher daily upload limits, A/B testing and embedding live streams. New creators find this page the hard way, usually on the day they discover they cannot set a custom thumbnail. It sits under Settings, then Channel, then Feature eligibility, and it tells you exactly which requirement is missing.