YouTube and other social media platforms are expanding their parental control features amid an international debate about the safety of minors online.
The Google-owned platform announced Wednesday that it is introducing new parental tools specifically for monitoring the time children and teens spend on YouTube Shorts. Parents will now be able to set daily time limits for their children’s connected accounts to watch Shorts — short videos similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels.
Parents will also be able to block Shorts viewing entirely or temporarily restrict it. For example, if a child needs to use YouTube for school, they could be allowed to watch only educational content.
YouTube will also give parents the ability to set personalized “bedtime” and “take a break” reminders. These features are also available to adults, and users can set limits for themselves.
In the coming weeks, the app will also update the sign-in process to make it easier for parents and children to switch between accounts. The new features complement YouTube’s existing controls for teens. It should be noted that last year, the platform also introduced age-based technology that determines whether an account belongs to a teenager.
