How to set parental controls on YouTube?
To set parental controls on YouTube, parents have several options depending on the age of the child and the desired level of supervision.
YouTube Kids App (for children under 13)
This dedicated app offers a safer environment for children with customizable controls.
- Individual Profiles: Create up to eight profiles, each with personalized settings.
- Content Level Settings: Choose from age-based categories:
- Preschool: For ages 4 and under, focusing on creativity and learning.
- Younger: For ages 5-8, with a wide range of topics like songs and cartoons.
- Older: For ages 9 and up, including popular music and gaming videos.
- Approved Content Only: Hand-pick specific videos, channels, or collections, disabling the search function.
- Screen Time Limits: Set timers to manage viewing duration.
- Blocking: Block specific videos or entire channels.
- Viewing History: Review what your children have watched.
- Parent Code: Set a PIN to prevent children from switching to parent profiles on smart TVs.
Supervised Experience on Main YouTube (for tweens and teens)
This option allows parents to link their child’s Google Account to their own for a supervised experience on the regular YouTube app.
- Content Settings: Parents can choose from:
- Explore: For children generally aged 9+.
- Explore More: For children generally aged 13+.
- Most of YouTube: Includes most content except that marked 18+.
- Feature Restrictions: Limits access to features like live streams (with “Explore” setting), community posts, comments, channel creation, and in-app purchases.
- Ad Protection: Curbs personalized ads.
- Screen Time Management: Disable autoplay, watch history, and search history to reduce passive screen time.
- Monitoring Activity: Parents can monitor their child’s activity via their account settings, and are notified if activity history is turned off.
- PIN Protection: On smart TVs, a parent code can be set on adult accounts to prevent children from switching profiles.
Restricted Mode
This is an optional setting on the main YouTube platform that helps filter out potentially mature content on a specific device or browser. It can be activated in the YouTube app, on the website, or on smart TVs and can be locked with a Google account login.
Google Family Link Integration
Family Link can be used in conjunction with YouTube Kids and the supervised experience to set digital ground rules, manage screen time limits, and oversee content across Google services.
Additional Controls
- SafeSearch: Enable SafeSearch via families.google.com or the Family Link app to filter explicit search results on Google and YouTube.
- Dismiss Content: Manually remove recommended videos from your child’s feed by selecting “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel”. This feedback can be reset as children grow.