Do you know what your kids are watching on YouTube?

Did you know? Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has grown to 2.7 billion users globally per month, with localized versions in over 100 countries and more than 30 million users in Canada who rack up 158 billion views per month.

Kids are a big part of that audience, watching everything from music videos and how-to tutorials to unboxing videos, cartoons and educational content. Given that YouTube sees 500 hours of video uploads per minute (which is all user generated) it’s challenging to know what is safe for young eyes.

According to Statista, in the second quarter of 2024, 59.4% of videos removed from YouTube were taken down for child safety reasons. So, what can you do to keep kids safe on YouTube?

Built-in parental controls

Thankfully, YouTube offers three levels of parental controls to help make the platform safer for kids and teens. They include:

YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids was designed to be a “family-friendly environment aimed at making exploration fun and simple.” The dedicated kids-only app offers filtered content geared toward three different age groups from four to 13. Parents and caregivers can also set timers, block specific videos or channels and turn off search functions. Comments are disabled by default, and the content is curated to ensure it's kid-friendly.

YouTube Kids is definitely a step in the right direction, but not guaranteed in terms of protecting kids from unwanted exposure to inappropriate content. The platform uses AI-based Video Classifiers to filter content, but malicious creators have found ways around these filters. YouTube also relies on users to flag and report these issues, and removing content is often a slow process.

YouTube Supervised Experience

As kids grow older, they want more freedom to explore online. YouTube Supervised Experience provides that independence with additional structure and controls. Key benefits of this feature include:

• Three different content settings you can choose – Explore, Explore More, Most of YouTube
• Adjusted or disabled standard features
• Auto-play is turned off by default to prevent continuous content suggestions
• Ban on personal ads
• Auto reminders provide alerts for breaks and bedtime

Restricted Mode

YouTube Restricted Mode helps to limit mature content in searches or suggestions, blocking videos related to drug and alcohol use, sexual content, graphic violence, profanity, mature language and content that targets a specific group negatively. Restricted Mode also blocks comment viewing on content. It is important to note that you must enable Restricted Mode on every device and browser. Unfortunately, kids have figured out ways around Restricted Mode by using a different browser or a different device. While Restricted Mode does filter a lot of inappropriate content, it is not entirely foolproof.

Conversation is critical

While technology controls provide a great layer of protection, nothing beats being involved in what kids are doing online. Talk to your kids about what they are watching, why they enjoy it and what they’re learning. This approach makes them more open to sharing their experiences with you. Sit down with them while they use the app and create playlists together. This way, you’re not only ensuring they are viewing safe content but you’re also giving them a sense of ownership and responsibility over their viewing habits.

While the filters provide some level of protection, they aren’t perfect. If your kids encounter inappropriate content, use this as a teaching moment to discuss the limitations of technology and the importance of digital safety. Keep the lines of communication open. If they see something that makes them uncomfortable, encourage them to come to you for support. Together, you can go through the process of flagging and reporting the content, so they know what digital citizenship looks like in action.

Teaching by engaging together

With over five billion videos shared to date, YouTube is an amazing resource for kids to have fun, learn, be creative and get inspiration. Technology controls can help kids experience the world of YouTube safely to a degree. But it’s important for the adults in their lives to teach them by engaging together with the app, getting curious about what they watch and why and modeling responsible digital citizenship.

To learn about popular social media and messaging apps, how they work and important tips to help keep kids safe online, check out this guide.