What Parents Should Know About YouTube’s New Parental Controls for Teens

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Preschoolers and teens find themselves trapped in a strange YouTube void as parents try to figure out how their kids can safely but realistically use the site. So far, the options have essentially been to keep them locked in the YouTube Kids app , which is (rightfully so) pretty restrictive, or to let them go into the frightening world of completely open YouTube. However, especially for teens and teens, YouTube Kids is a little too childish, while full-featured YouTube is probably not where you want them to hang out. But now there is an option in the middle of the path.

YouTube recently launched a new feature specifically targeted at teens, teens and their parents with a controlled experience. Parents can allow their children to access regular YouTube (not YouTube Kids) through a controlled Google account. Through this account, parents can set content preferences based on their child’s age or developmental level. As described on YouTube, there are three settings to choose from:

  • Exploration: For kids ready to switch from YouTube Kids and explore YouTube content, this setup will feature a wide variety of videos that are generally suitable for viewers ages 9 and older, including vlogs, tutorials, game videos, music videos , news, educational content and more.
  • Explore More: With content that is generally suitable for viewers 13 and older, this option will include an even larger set of videos, as well as live streams in the same categories as Explore.
  • Most of YouTube: This option will contain almost all YouTube videos, excluding age- restricted content , and includes sensitive topics that might only be suitable for older teens.

To set up a supervised experience, YouTube offers a video tutorial naturally on YouTube :

First, you need to create a Supervised Google Account for your child using Family Link – you can find these instructions here . If they already have an account that you manage through Family Link, you can set up your child’s YouTube access by following these instructions:

To change their “content preferences”, sign in to YouTube, go to your profile photo, and go to Settings > Parenting Settings / Manage Settings for Your Kids . From there, select the child’s name and in the YouTube Settings section , click the Edit button next to the Content Settings field . Here you can choose one of the “Explore”, “Learn More” or “Much of YouTube” settings described above.

In your child’s settings, you can also block video recommendations based on new video views or new searches.

The experience is still in beta, which means YouTube will test it, collect feedback and make adjustments as needed, but it is available for use in dozens of countries and regions .

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