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YouTube

Restricted mode, supervised accounts, autoplay

Last updated: March 2026

Easy~5 minutes
1

Create a Google Supervised Account

Go to families.google.com on your computer or use the Google Family Link app on your phone. Sign in with your Google account. Create a Google account for your child or add their existing account to your family group. For children under 13, Google requires a supervised account. This supervised account will carry YouTube restrictions automatically.

2

Turn On Restricted Mode

On your child's device, open the YouTube app. Tap the profile icon, then "Settings," then "General." Find "Restricted Mode" and toggle it ON. Restricted Mode uses automated signals (community flagging, age restrictions, and other signals) to filter out potentially mature content. On the web, scroll to the bottom of any YouTube page and toggle Restricted Mode on. For supervised accounts, you can lock this setting from your Family Link dashboard.

3

Turn Off Autoplay

In the YouTube app, go to Settings, then "General" (or "Autoplay" on some versions). Turn OFF "Autoplay next video." Autoplay can lead children down a rabbit hole of increasingly inappropriate content as YouTube's algorithm continuously suggests the next video. With autoplay off, your child must deliberately choose each video they watch.

4

Use YouTube Kids for Children Under 13

For children under 13, install the YouTube Kids app instead of regular YouTube. It has a heavily curated content library, built-in timers, and no comment section. Download it from the App Store or Google Play. During setup, select the appropriate age range: "Preschool" (4 and under), "Younger" (5-8), or "Older" (9-12). You can also approve or block specific channels and turn off search entirely for the youngest children.

Pro Tips

  • •In Family Link, you can see your child's YouTube watch history and search history. Review this periodically to understand what they're watching.
  • •Disable the comments section by using YouTube Kids or by setting the supervised account to a lower content level. Comments on regular YouTube can contain harmful content.
  • •Set a daily YouTube time limit through Family Link or Screen Time (iOS) to prevent binge watching.

What This Doesn’t Cover

  • •Restricted Mode is not 100% accurate. Some inappropriate content may slip through, and some harmless educational content may be incorrectly blocked.
  • •YouTube Kids is not immune to issues. Occasionally, disturbing content designed to look like children's content has made it past filters.
  • •If your child is signed out of their supervised account or uses an incognito/private browser window, none of these restrictions will apply.

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