YouTube announced new parental controls Wednesday aimed at limiting how much time children and teens spend watching Shorts, its short-form video format.
The Google-owned platform will now allow parents to set daily timers on connected accounts to restrict time spent on Shorts. They can also block access to Shorts entirely, either temporarily or permanently.
Additional controls include customizable reminders for users to stop viewing content, such as Bedtime and Take a Break alerts. These features are also available to adult users.
In the coming weeks, YouTube plans to update the account sign-in process to make it easier for users to switch between adult and supervised profiles.
These updates expand YouTube’s existing parental control settings, including tools to supervise teens who upload videos to the platform.
Last year, YouTube rolled out age-estimation technology to identify users likely to be minors in order to tailor content and settings accordingly. Other platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook, offer similar parental oversight features.
