What’s the problem?

The YouTube Kids app automatically filters out most inappropriate content. But, no automated system is perfect, so it may not catch everything.

Videos that look like they’re child-friendly can include violent or disturbing content. They might be suggested videos, or appear in search results.

4 steps to take to help keep your child safe

If you don’t already have YouTube Kids, it takes you through parental controls when you set it up. Make sure to set yourself up as a parent and then add child accounts, following the steps on YouTube. Set it up on desktop here: https://www.youtubekids.com/ or download the app.

Once you’re set up, follow the steps below.

1. Set parental controls to help protect your child from seeing inappropriate content

You can:

Set content settings so your child only sees videos intended for certain ages (4 and under, 5 to 7 and 8 to 12), or they only see videos you approve – you choose this during the setup process
Turn search off so your child can only see recommended, curated videos under each category in the home screen and can't search for videos

To turn off search:

Tap the ‘Lock’ icon in the bottom corner of any page
Enter your custom passcode (or complete the multiplication problem)
Select ‘Settings’, and select your child’s profile and enter your parent account password
Switch ‘Allow searching’ to off

2. Block videos or channels that you don’t want your child to watch

From the home screen:

Tap the 3 dots (‘more’) next to the video
Tap ‘Block this video'
Enter the numbers on the screen, or your custom passcode

From the watch page:

Tap the 3 dots (‘more’) at the top of the video
Tap ‘Block’
Tap ‘Block this video only’ – or choose ‘Block entire channel’ to block the channel associated with the video
Tap ‘Block’ again, then enter the numbers you see written on the screen, or your custom passcode

3. Report inappropriate content

Tap the 3 dots (‘more’) in the watch page for the video you want to report
Tap ‘Report’
Select the reason for reporting the video (inappropriate visuals, inappropriate audio, or other)

Make sure your child knows how to do this too.