The complete guide to YouTube parental controls (2026)

YouTube parental controls come in three forms: YouTube Kids (a separate app for children up to 12), supervised accounts (a parent-managed version of main YouTube) and Restricted Mode (a filter for any account). For a child under 13, set up YouTube Kids or a supervised account and manage it from Family Center in your own YouTube app or from Family Link. None of them lets you allow only chosen channels on main YouTube; that exists only in YouTube Kids' "Approve content yourself" mode.

If you would rather choose the channels yourself and have your child see nothing else, Pepelly is a player built for that. More on it after the five gaps below.

Menu names in this guide were checked against Google's and Apple's help pages on 21 October 2026. They change from time to time, so if a label looks different on your screen, look for the nearest match.

YouTube, supervised accounts and YouTube Kids: which one?

The choice depends mostly on your child's age. Google's own help page sets out three options, and they are quite different products.

In short: YouTube Kids for children up to about 8, a supervised account from about 9, and Restricted Mode only as an extra layer on shared devices.

Step by step: YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is set up in the YouTube Kids app and can then be managed from your own phone. You need a Google Account; the child does not need an email address.

1. Open the YouTube Kids app, tap the profile picker, then Get Started, and choose your Google Account.
2. Enter your child's first name or nickname and age.
3. Pick a content setting: Preschool, Younger, Older or Approve content yourself.

To change settings later:

From Family Center you can also switch on Disable autoplay, pause watch history and clear history. YouTube Kids has its own timer for screen time inside the app.

The "Approve content yourself" mode

"Approve content yourself" is YouTube's only allowlist: your child can watch only the videos, channels and collections you approved, and search is off. It is the most restrictive setting Google offers, and for a preschooler it is a good one.

You can only switch it on in the YouTube Kids app, not from main YouTube:

1. In YouTube Kids, open Settings, enter your passcode, choose your child's profile and enter your password.
2. Tap Edit settings and turn on Approve content yourself.
3. Read the Getting Started screen and tap Select.
4. Tap the icon on each collection, channel or video you want to allow, then tap Done.
5. Later, use Manage under Approved content only to add or remove items, and Preview to see what your child sees.

Its limits: it works only inside YouTube Kids, which carries a smaller selection than main YouTube, so a channel you want may not be there. Approved channels still post their long compilations, and those are not filtered. Approving channel by channel takes time on a phone.

Step by step: supervised accounts on YouTube

A supervised account gives a child the main YouTube app with fewer features: no uploading, no live chat, no purchases, no personalised ads. You set it up through Family Link or the Family Center in your YouTube app, and Google walks you through it.

The channel block only appears when you are signed in with the linked parent account. If your child uses the same Google Account in YouTube and YouTube Kids, a block applies in both.

Step by step: your own account, TVs and other devices

On an account without supervision, Restricted Mode and the autoplay switch are the controls you have. Both have to be set on each device.

On a TV, set a Parent code under Settings in the YouTube TV app. It then asks for the code before signed-out viewing or switching to other accounts on that TV.

Then close the side doors. Parental controls only apply while your child is signed in to the supervised profile, so block the apps and browsers where they are not:

• iPhone and iPad (iOS 27): Settings › Family › your child › Apps & Websites › choose the app › Block App. On older versions the same options sit under Screen Time.
• Android (Family Link): your child › Controls › App limits › choose the app › Block. On some versions this is under Screen time › Time limits › App limits.

Five gaps YouTube parental controls leave

All of these tools are useful, and none of them turns YouTube into a closed list. These are the gaps parents run into most.

1. Shorts. The Shorts feed limit can be set to zero for a supervised account, which removes the feed in the YouTube app. Shorts can still appear in search results and through links, and the limit does not apply in a signed-out browser. On a normal account, the limit is a reminder the user can dismiss.
2. Autoplay. Parents can switch on Disable autoplay for supervised accounts and YouTube Kids, which is a real help. The end screen still shows more videos to tap, and on any other account autoplay is a setting the viewer controls.
3. Recommendations. In a supervised account, the home feed and "up next" are still chosen by an algorithm. Google says it raises quality standards for younger viewers, but you do not choose what is suggested.
4. Re-uploads. Blocking a channel blocks that channel only. Google's help page says plainly that it does not block videos re-uploaded on other channels, or similar channels. New channels appear every day, so a blocklist never ends.
5. Comments. YouTube Kids has none. In a supervised account, whether comments show depends on the content setting, and on an adult account they are always there.

When an allowlist app makes sense

An allowlist app makes sense when you know which channels you want and would rather not manage the rest of YouTube. If your child is 3 to 8 and YouTube Kids' "Approve content yourself" has everything you need, that is a good free option. If you find yourself blocking channel after channel, or the channels you want are not in YouTube Kids, an allowlist is less work.

Pepelly is a player for children from 3 to 12 that shows only the YouTube channels you chose. You pick channels by search, by pasting a link, from a starter pack for the age, or from your own subscriptions. Your child sees the newest videos from those channels, and nothing in between: no Shorts, no autoplay, no recommendations, no comments, no links out. Compilations and very long videos are hidden by default. A parent PIN is the only way out of kid mode.

Pepelly does not replace the device settings above. The allowlist works inside Pepelly, so block the regular YouTube app and browser with Screen Time or Family Link; the app shows you how. Videos play in the official YouTube player, and Pepelly does not remove YouTube ads. Pepelly is not affiliated with YouTube or Google.

For a deeper look at the biggest gap, see how to block YouTube Shorts for kids. If you are choosing what to put on the list, start with our low-stimulation shows for kids. See how Pepelly works or pricing.