YouTube Parental Controls: Manage Your Child’s Content Experience

Published 2019-08-29

Do Away Irksome YouTube Channels For Good!

YouTube is a house for gobs of great videos and a lot of them are ideal for kids to watch. They can explore the video-sharing platform to watch educational videos, listen to music, and have a laugh. But what if their simple search for ‘funny cat videos’ take a wrong turn? No matter how much you try to monitor what your little one watches, but you can’t certainly be present every single second.

That’s where you’re required to use YouTube Parental Controls to set restrictions & block inappropriate channels.

How To Set YouTube Parental Controls On Desktop?

Limit what your kids watch by using the Restricted Mode feature; this can effectively be used as a great parental control to manage your child’s content experience.

STEP 1- On your browser, head towards YouTube.com and Sign in with your Google credentials.

STEP 2- Once you’re landed on your dashboard, click on the Profile icon, located at the top-right corner.

STEP 3- Toggle on the Restricted Mode, it is located at the bottom of the menu.

STEP 4- Click on the Lock Restricted Mode button also, this would prevent your kid from turning off the safety mode. YouTube wants to be sure that you want to activate the restricted mode, so it would verify your approval by asking your ID & Password again.

YouTube will be restricted to deliver inappropriate content from now on!

Also Read – YouTube to MP3 Chrome Extension

On Mobile:

Setting YouTube Parental Controls on Browsers will not affect your account anywhere else. Hence, you’ll be required to turn Restricted Mode on other devices as well to filter the unsuitable content.

STEP 1- Launch YouTube app on your Android or iPhone. Sign in if you aren’t logged in already.

STEP 2- Go to your Profile icon located at the top-right corner and open the Settings menu.

STEP 3- You’ll be presented with a bunch of options to explore to modify your watching experience.

STEP 4- Tap on General > Toggle on Restricted Mode option to hide all the potential mature videos.

Remember YouTube’s Restricted Mode is not 100% accurate and relies on the part of users flagging content that might be inappropriate for kids.

For more security, you can even try blocking certain YouTube channels that might hamper your child’s experience.

How To Block YouTube Channels On Desktop?

Below steps would only take a minute if you already know the YouTube Channel you want to block.

STEP 1- To Block YouTube Channels on PC, go to YouTube.com and login if necessary.

STEP 2- Search for the YouTube Channel you wish to block content from & click on their account.

STEP 3- Click on the About button located on the channel’s page > Click Flag icon to choose ‘Block user’ option.

Once you submit your request the YouTube Channel will automatically be blocked!

How To Block YouTube Channels On Smartphones?

Blocking YouTube Channels on mobile devices is relatively similar to PC:

STEP 1 – Open the YouTube app on your mobile device & search for the YouTube Channel or User you wish to block.

STEP 2- Once you locate the desired channel, go to their main account page, by tapping on their account name.

STEP 3- Tap on the three-dot icon at the top-right corner and choose ‘Block User’ option.

Confirm that you’re sure to block the user & that’s all!

Bonus Tips To Filter Content On YouTube:

1. Try YouTube Incognito Mode

YouTube Incognito mode can help users to manage what pops up in their normal recommendation section. Works on both smartphones & computers but have different ways to access them.

On Mobile:

Launch YouTube on your phone > tap on the profile icon at the top-right corner > tap on ‘Turn on incognito’ option. This feature would help you to watch videos without using your profile.

On PC:

On the desktop, the process to enable Incognito is a little complicated. Start by going into your Watch History from the left-side menu > choose to Pause your watch history > this will make it difficult for users to tune your recommendation.

2. Control What Appears On YouTube Homepage

Your YouTube Homepage displays content that might interest you in the recent uploads or recommended videos. But these sections may include videos you never want to watch. at all!

To filter your Recommended feed > click on the three-dots icons next to the title of your video > choose the option ‘Not interested’. Next time, the particular channel will stop appearing in your recommended feed.

3. Use Third-Party Video Blocker

We have already seen How To Block a YouTube Channel on both desktop & mobile. But there can be times when you don’t feel like blocking the entire channel, instead just restricting specific videos. For the purpose, you can try using third-party Video Blocker extension. This would help you to manually add certain keywords or channels that might make your child’s watching experience worse.

Just add the extension for Chrome, Firefox & start adding Keywords & Channels you wish to block on from your YouTube account.

4. Try YouTube Kids App

Using YouTube Kids way is another great way to safeguard your children from interacting unsuitable content. The application is designed especially for young kids to experience ad-supported TV shows, music, educational videos, and friendly content. You can check out how to get started with YouTube Kids and setup YouTube Parental Controls for the same.

Enhance YouTube Experience!

Modifying a few YouTube Settings can weed out content that is not appropriate for children. To know more about YouTube’s Safety Mode, check out their Support Page. Give all the aforementioned methods a whirl and take control of your YouTube experience!

You can even check out different Parental Control Apps for Android & iPhone!

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