Parental Controls on YouTube
YouTube can serve up surprising content even when kids search for innocent things. Here are your options, from simplest to most involved.
Option 1: YouTube Kids (Best for Under 10s)
YouTube Kids is a separate app with content filtered for children. Download it from the App Store or Google Play, set your child's age, and let them use that instead of regular YouTube.
Option 2: Supervised Experience (Ages 9–12)
Open the YouTube app and go to your child's Google account settings.
In Google Family Link, find YouTube settings and choose Explore — a curated, age-appropriate version of YouTube.
You can upgrade this to Explore More as they get older.
Option 3: Restricted Mode (Quick Fix)
Open YouTube and tap the profile icon.
Go to Settings > General and turn on Restricted Mode.
Important: this must be done on every device, every browser. It's not foolproof, but it helps.
Tip: Restricted Mode is easy to turn off, so it works best for younger kids who don't know how. For older kids, supervised mode through Family Link is harder to bypass.
