YouTube Updates Parental Controls to Boost Teen Online Safety
In Focus
- New updates allow parents to limit the time children spend on the platform
- Parents can set Shorts feed limits using the new controls
- YouTube also launched a creator guide to boost age-appropriate content
YouTube has introduced new features to expand parental control over teen viewing patterns. According to Gadgets360, the new parental control updates by YouTube allow parents to limit how much time children are exposed to content on the platform.
New Controls Customize Viewing Experience
According to YouTube, parents and experts identified controls as critical to addressing children’s viewing needs. Controls relate to responsible content consumption and options that make it easier for parents to decide what is right for their families.
“Parents can now help teens be even more intentional about how they watch, with a control to set the amount of time spent scrolling Shorts,” YouTube stated in a website post.
YouTube’s screen time management feature, which is designed to enhance teen online safety, allows parents to set Shorts feed limits to zero.
Using YouTube’s parental Shorts limit setting, parents can:
- Disable Shorts for specific durations of time
- Limit Shorts feeds to 15 minutes, half an hour, or even 2 hours
- Customize bedtime and take-a-break reminders for supervised YouTube accounts
YouTube introduced a Shorts time limit for kids days after Meta urged Australia to reconsider the under-16 social media ban. The social media giant also called for app store protections after blocking over 500,000 million under-16 Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Bringing High-Quality Content to Teens
YouTube also said parents have identified content and age-appropriate experiences as critical for children. Content relates to appropriate information for younger audiences, while experience is about the ease with which parents can interact with the platform to keep their children safe.
In addition to YouTube Shorts’ time limit for teens, the video streaming platform has introduced a creator guide to boost age-appropriate content.
“We’re introducing new principles and a creator guide to steer teens toward content that is fun, age-appropriate, higher-quality, and more enriching,” YouTube noted on the website post.
With this approach, YouTube plans to recommend high-quality content to teens, including videos from TED-Ed, Khan Academy, and CrashCourse. The video streaming platform faced backlash recently after users noticed that its algorithm recommended AI-generated songs.
YouTube Simplifies Account Setup for Parents
The video streaming company plans to improve its sign-up process in the coming weeks to ensure children get the right viewing experience. YouTube said the new process will allow parents to set up new teen accounts and switch between accounts with ease.
“This makes it easier to ensure that everyone in the family is in the right viewing experience with the content settings and recommendations of age-appropriate content they actually want to watch,” The company stated on its website.
YouTube has previously taken steps towards boosting teen safety online. Last year, the social media platform created a teen mental health video section to provide curated, age-appropriate content on mental health topics like anxiety and depression.
