YouTube has announced a fresh set of parental control features aimed at giving families more say over how children and teenagers use the platform, as concerns grow around screen time and online safety.
The video-sharing platform said the updates are designed to help young users explore YouTube responsibly rather than keep them away from the digital world altogether. Teens use YouTube for a range of activities, from studying and listening to podcasts to following creators and watching sports highlights, the company said.
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Based on feedback from parents and guidance from child development experts, YouTube has focused its latest changes on three areas which includes encouraging healthy viewing habits, strengthening age-appropriate protections, and making family account management easier.
Parents can now control Shorts consumption
One of the most significant updates allows parents to manage how much time their teenagers spend scrolling through YouTube Shorts. A new setting lets parents limit access to the Shorts feed, and the company said they will soon be able to set that limit to zero.
YouTube described this as an industry-first feature that gives parents direct control over short-form content, which is often criticised for encouraging endless scrolling.
The platform said the controls are meant to fit into real-life family routines. For example, parents can block Shorts when a teen is using YouTube for homework and allow access during breaks or travel. Parents managing supervised accounts will also be able to customise Bedtime and Take a Break reminders, building on well-being tools that are already switched on by default for teen accounts.
Beyond time limits, YouTube is also trying to improve the quality of content recommended to teenagers. The company has introduced a new set of principles and a creator guide outlining what it considers high-quality teen content. These guidelines were developed with input from teenagers, researchers and child development specialists.
YouTube said the principles will be shared with creators globally and will influence how videos are recommended to teen users. As a result, teenagers are expected to see more instructional and informative videos focused on learning, storytelling and personal development, alongside existing safeguards for users under 18.
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To make things simpler for families, YouTube is also streamlining account creation and management. While teen accounts are already automatically placed under protected settings, the platform will soon introduce an updated sign-up experience. Parents will be able to create child accounts more easily and switch between family profiles within the mobile app, depending on who is watching.
YouTube said the updates reflect its effort to evolve with families and ensure that children and teenagers can learn and be entertained in a safer, more balanced online environment.
