YouTube Kids Adds New Controls For Parents, Who Can Now Block Videos

The latest update to YouTube Kids allows parents to more tightly control the videos their children are permitted to watch. The app’s latest feature allows its adult users to block certain videos so that they cannot be watched by younger viewers.

The new feature can be accessed from a drop down menu that is available on all of the app’s videos and channels. From there, parents can choose to block the content they don’t want their young ones to see. YouTube notes repetitive sing-alongs and videos with names like “How to make a mess” as a few sample suggestions for content parents might want to restrict.

Since launching its Kids app in February 2015, YouTube has rolled out a steady stream of improvements that have all given parents further control. An August 2016 update, for example, allowed users to carry over their YouTube Red subscriptions to the Kids app, thus turning it into an ad-free experience.

The most recent update is also another step toward placating the advocacy groups that, in the past, have protested the amount of inappropriate content they were able to find on YouTube Kids. The presence of those videos became such an issue that it even ended up on the Senate floor, with YouTube issuing a clarifying statement on the matter. Now, with this additional controls, it will be even easier for parents to ensure that their children only view the videos that are right for them.

More information is available in a blog post authored by YouTube.