Unlike Twitter’s policy of assigning the coveted blue checkmark to users who prove their identity, YouTube has automatically verified any channel passing 100,000 subscribers, until now. The company – a subsidiary of Google – announced an overhaul on Thursday.

Starting in October, YouTube’s team will decide who to verify based on a few outlined criteria. Those include a channel’s popularity, its presence outside YouTube, and whether similarly-named channels exist that could confuse users.

There is more: all channels verified under the old rules have been stripped of that status and, crucially, “there is no process to request channel verification.”

Creators were furious, and took to Twitter to vent at the change. “Keep the surprises coming YouTube,”wrote one vlogger, “I bet you’re fun at parties.”

“Being verified on youtube doesn't REALLY matter,” mused another, “but it feels like a slap in the damn face to get this email after working my a** off for 7 years.”