My daughter loves watching videos on YouTube on my tablet. She loves watching those toy unboxing videos, playdough and music videos. I don’t mind her taking over my tablet too much, and I try to monitor what she watches, but I can’t be there every single second.
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How To Block A Channel On YouTube
UPDATE February 2017- This post has been updated with new info. I previously stated that blocking a channel will make the videos not appear to you which is incorrect.
My main concern with her watching YouTube is actually due to one of the most popular features – the suggested videos on the right sidebar. My daughter can go from video to video without needing much help from me, which is great. BUT sometimes the suggested videos are not appropriate for my daughter.
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YOUTUBE APP ALTERNATIVES FOR KIDS
She started watching “Let It Go” (over and over again) and then she would watch other Frozen clips. Then one day I noticed that the Frozen cartoon she was watching was a scary “parody” of Frozen. I made her change it, but the suggested videos would keep popping up. There were other channels I didn’t like her watching as well, that also continued to pop up.
[Tweet “You don’t know what your kids are watching on #YouTube – learn how to block a channel. #kids”]
There are a few things you can do to keep your kids safe on YouTube and keep the questionable videos from being shown to them. BUT nothing is 100% guaranteed, especially on mobile. At the end of the post, I share some alternatives to YouTube. My favorite is ABCMouse because it is a really good substitute and also educational. (Try a free month trial here).
Why would you want to block someone on YouTube?
TRIGGER WARNING!!
Here’s another example of something I DEFINITELY don’t want my kids watching. This is one of the types of videos my kids watch. I would hear this song constantly. When I saw this post shared on Facebook, it literally made me sick to my stomach.
This is where your mom-instincts come into play. You will need to keep an eye out for the channels that your kids are coming to contact with that are objectionable. My suggestion is that you pay close attention to what your kids watch, but also look at their history from time to time.
How do you get rid of recommended channels on YouTube?
Unfortunately, you can’t right now.
How do you get rid of recommended videos on YouTube?
Can’t do that either.
How do you block a channel on YouTube Mobile?
Sensing a theme here? Can’t do it. 🙁
What happens when you block someone on YouTube?
When you block a channel or a person on YouTube, you are only blocking them from commenting on your videos and sending you private messages. Not very helpful right?
Is there ANY way to block a channel on YouTube?
Actually there is one way you can block a channel on YouTube but it’s not through YouTube itself. It is actually a Google Chrome extension. So, it only works when watching YouTube on a laptop/desktop with Google Chrome.
The extension is called Video Blocker and there is an great tutorial on MakeTechEasier.com.
How to set up restricted mode on YouTube
This is an overall control setting for YouTube.
VERY IMPORTANT: You need to do this on all your devices. Setting the safety mode on your desktop does not set the safety mode on your iPhone or tablet.
[Tweet “Learn how to put the #Safety Mode on all your devices that access YouTube. #kids #tech”]
This is how you turn on the Restricted Mode in two clicks on your desktop or laptop.
Step 1 – Scroll down to the bottom of any page and click on Restricted. (Previously called Safety Mode)
Step 2 – Click the button for On.
This is how you turn on the Restricted Mode on an iPhone.
Step 1 – Click on the gear wheel on the upper right corner
Step 2 – Click on Restricted Mode Filtering
Step 3 – Click on Strict
This is how you turn on the Restriced Mode on an Android Tablet.
Step 1 – Click on the three vertical dots on the upper right hand corner.
Step 2 – Click Settings
Step 3 – Click on the box that says Restricted Mode
NOTE: Restricted mode does block some things that you might want to see. Not inappropriate things even – it was blocking some videos about blogging for me. But I decided I wanted my child to be safe more than I wanted to watch a few missing videos.
What are some other options besides YouTube?
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE –
YOUTUBE APP ALTERNATIVES FOR KIDS
If you want your kids to be entertained with videos but NOT watch YouTube, there are a few options.
It’s an app for your smartphone (not available on desktop) from YouTube that is targeted just to kids. It’s all kid’s videos so they are less likely to see something bad. It’s not impossible, but still better than YouTube.
From the site:
“We’ve taken a number of precautions to ensure that families using YouTube Kids will see videos that are appropriate for younger audiences. We screen Recommended content using a mix of automated analysis and user input, and we are continuously making improvements based on new technology, research, and user feedback. Please remember, YouTube handles tremendous breadth, depth and scale of content — so while we work hard to get it right, sometimes your child may find content in the app that you may not want them to watch.”
ABCMouse.com is an online early education website for kids 2 -8. They recently added a 2nd grade curriculum too. Their animated videos and songs are all created and housed on the site, so you don’t need to worry about “recommended videos.” Plus it’s educational!
You can even get a free month trial of ABCMouse to see if you and your child will like it.
This would be all videos you’ve bought for your kids. That can get a little expensive, but this option would give you the most control on what your kids watch.
Sprout is a TV channel, so some of the videos on the site are free to watch, others you need to log in with your TV subscription. They verify that you have a TV package with the channel and then you can watch all the videos.
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The Five Toys I’m Throwing Away As Soon As The Kids Aren’t Looking
This is great info Kristen. My kids love to watch Youtube, but it’s scary what they have access to! I will definitely be following your advice.
they also now have a kids youtube app that only allows “safe” channels to be featured 🙂
Definitely going to check that out!
This is GREAT info that I really needed to know! I’m surprised at what all they put on youtube these days that my daughter ends up finding! I definitely will be using your advice! btw I LOVE your blog! Really cute website!
Thank you so much! You know I was so surprised too. I wasn’t on YouTube much before I had kids so I had no idea.
Wow What a great post! I love the tutorials as well showing how to do it, thanks so much!
My kids do the same thing….once in a while I would catch them watching something that I didn’t like…I downloaded the youtube kids app and love it! They can find their favorite videos much easier and I don’t have to worry about what they’re going to click on. You should check it out. (Stopping over from LouLouGirls Fabulous party and I’m a new follower. 🙂 )
great information and is it not great that we can block things on our tv that we don’t want our kids to see
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Thanks for these great tips! When my kids were little there was no such thing as YouTube. They are teenagers now and do use it, but at this point I have very little control on what they see. If I had small children I would definitely do these things! Thanks for linking up to smallvictoriessundaylinkup!
Such a great and helpful post thank you for sharing and joining our Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday Link Party.. Have a great day, co-host Evija @Fromevijawithlove
Thank you so much for sharing this on Turn It Up Tuesday! Choosing this post as one my FAVES. I have been searching for a better way to block things on YouTube from my 8 year old.
This is really great to know! As tech savvy as kids are getting now – at even younger ages – knowing how to protect them from themselves is key.
This is great information! You can never be too safe with your kids. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – we love partying with you! Hope to see you next Friday. 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
My two and a half-year-old granddaughter already knows how to find videos on youtube. I’m sending your link to my daughter, it’s never too early to be cautious, even if they don’t do it on purpose. Thank you so much for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop!
It is surprising what a 2 and a half year old can get in to! Hope your daughter puts the blocks on
Thank you for making this tutorial/post. My son loves to watch monster truck videos on YouTube and around Halloween ‘scary’ ghost and monster cartoon videos keep poping up and he would click it then run to me saying ‘scary scary’ and they still pop up. I’m glad I can block them now!
You’re so welcome. The same thing happened with my girls.
I could be completely wrong about this, so I apologize in advance if I am, but I think you’re mistaken by what “blocking” means. I’ve searched quit a bit through YouTube’s help and support forums before I discovered this blog post. As far as I understand from YouTube’s terms, “blocking” a channel only means that you’re blocking that channel/person from commenting on any content you post such as videos on your channel or comments. This feature doesn’t block the channel completely, unfortunately. I originally thought the same as you and took the time to visit each unwanted channels about page to block them individually, only to see their videos continue to show up under the recommendations feed. I feel this blocking feature is very inadequate, while it does help prevent any bullying or communication from unwanted channels it does not block them from showing up on your feed. Also, I think there is a real need to be able to be able to filter you’re recommendations or suggested video content as well to avoid certain types of videos feom showing up at all. YouTube has some major improvements to make in these areas. I would like to mention also that, yes, there is a new kids youtube app available on andriod and ios. I haven’t been able to use utilize this much bc my children watch YouTube on the PS3 we have connected in the living room and the kids version is not available on PS3. However, from my limited use of the kids app on iPad I do notice that it is still under similar settings that the regular app is under. You still can’t filter your recommendations or suggested videos and you can’t block an entire channel from showing up. This is a real problem for parents bc there has been quite a few channels that disguise themselves as appropriate for children by featuring popular cartoons like Elsa and Spiderman but their content is terribly inappropriate even for kids 13yo and older (as youtube terms say). I have done my part as a parent to report and block as many inappropriate channels as I can but there should be a petition made to YouTube to enable better parental controls.
I greatly appreciate this article and you’re taking the time to write it. I just wanted to clarify some details that parents should be aware of when considering letting their kids watch YouTube.
Thanks for taking the time to write such an insightful comment. I noticed that “blocking” a channel wasn’t working as well and have completely revised the post with new information. I really wish YouTube would make it a little easier to keep our kids safe. Thanks for stopping by!
They don’t allow blocking channels, because one way of major copyright holders protect their products by uploading hundreds of short clips from their shows to obfuscate the illegally uploaded ones in search and recommendations. If people could just block the official channel then they could clearly see the pirated shows in the search results.
I am so with you on this one!!! These channels make money for YT by having view-bots attached to their videos and that makes it look like they are generating HUGE trafik and they get money from ads this way. There is a young man’s vlog where he explains how these videos have permeated YT. Until a developer would come up with a real app or solution us parents are powerless against them. My son needs tablet to study and as a coping device for him and want him to learn on his own things that I could not teach him (he loves to watch car races, baseball, learning about rockets).
Block user does not block the channel, the channel will continue to show up. Block user only blocks that user from posting on videos that you upload. Also the safety setting only blocks based on percentages of people’s input that the content is inappropriate. Unfortunately if people watching it never flag it, it will still be allowed.
I have this problem and try to fight YT all the time. I went to Disney and wrote them an email, telling them that there are some real sick videos floating around using Disney characters (claymotion ad live action videos). Some of these videos are at almost X-rated, but slips by the “Safe search” (what a joke) because the channels are marked “Children’s channel with A B C songs!” Also sending emails to the FCC would be a good idea.
Hi, I didn’t see a flag anywhere. When I click the About tab, it just shows how many subscribers and likes they have.
Great info, Kristen! It`s important to control what your kids are watching on youtube!