diff --git a/youtube_dl/extractor/tumblr.py b/youtube_dl/extractor/tumblr.py
index 758ccbb44..89e6eb5ab 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/extractor/tumblr.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/extractor/tumblr.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from __future__ import unicode_literals
 import re
 
 from .common import InfoExtractor
+from ..compat import compat_str
 from ..utils import (
     ExtractorError,
     int_or_none,
@@ -150,11 +151,19 @@ class TumblrIE(InfoExtractor):
         url = 'http://%s.tumblr.com/post/%s/' % (blog, video_id)
         webpage, urlh = self._download_webpage_handle(url, video_id)
 
+        redirect_url = compat_str(urlh.geturl())
+        if 'tumblr.com/safe-mode' in redirect_url or redirect_url.startswith('/safe-mode'):
+            raise ExtractorError(
+                'This Tumblr may contain sensitive media. '
+                'Disable safe mode in your account settings '
+                'at https://www.tumblr.com/settings/account#safe_mode',
+                expected=True)
+
         iframe_url = self._search_regex(
             r'src=\'(https?://www\.tumblr\.com/video/[^\']+)\'',
             webpage, 'iframe url', default=None)
         if iframe_url is None:
-            return self.url_result(urlh.geturl(), 'Generic')
+            return self.url_result(redirect_url, 'Generic')
 
         iframe = self._download_webpage(iframe_url, video_id, 'Downloading iframe page')