As Australia and other countries around the world begin passing laws that ban children from social media platforms, YouTube is bolstering parental controls on its platform.
More Control for Parents on YouTube
New tools allow parents to set time limits and bedtime reminders for their children’s accounts.
- Parents can now limit YouTube Shorts viewing time.
- Custom alerts can remind kids to go to bed or take breaks.
- These controls apply to accounts designated for users under 18.
- YouTube is streamlining the process of creating and switching between child and parent accounts.
Parents can now set time limits for YouTube Shorts, Google’s short-form video format, similar to Instagram Reels and TikTok. According to a YouTube blog post, parents will soon be able to restrict their kids from watching Shorts videos entirely.”Parents can set the Shorts feed limit to zero when they want their teen to use YouTube to focus on homework,and change it to 60 minutes during a long car trip to be entertained,” the company announced.
In addition, parents of supervised accounts will soon be able to set custom alerts on their kids’ accounts reminding them to go to bed and to take a break from the platform. these new features build on mental health initiatives originally introduced in 2023.
YouTube has collaborated with its youth Advisory Committee, as well as members from the American Psychological Association, Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and other global organizations in developing these parental tools.
Shorts time limits and other parental controls apply to users with under-18 accounts, which the company reportedly checks with age-estimation technology that it announced last year.
Over the next few weeks, YouTube will invite parents to create a new child account, with the ability to switch between accounts in the mobile app more seamlessly.
Why is YouTube making these changes? Growing concerns about the impact of social media on children’s mental health and well-being, coupled with increasing legislative pressure globally, prompted YouTube to enhance its parental controls. Australia and other nations are actively considering or enacting laws restricting children’s access to social media.
Who is affected? These changes primarily affect parents and children using youtube with supervised accounts designated for users under the age of 18. The controls are designed to give parents more oversight and management capabilities over their children’s YouTube experience.
What are the new features? YouTube is introducing two key features: customizable time limits for YouTube Shorts and the ability for parents to set custom bedtime and break reminders. Parents can completely block Shorts access or allow limited viewing time, tailoring the experience to their child’s needs.
How are these features being implemented? YouTube is utilizing age-estimation technology to verify user age before applying the parental controls.The company has also collaborated with experts in child psychology and digital wellness to ensure the tools are effective and responsible. The rollout of new child account creation and account switching features will occur over the next few weeks.
The changes are currently being rolled out and are expected to be fully available to all users in the coming weeks. YouTube continues to refine its approach to child safety and parental controls in response to evolving concerns and best practices.
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