YouTube announced Wednesday it will allow parents to set time limits or completely block access to Shorts for children and teenagers through new parental controls for supervised accounts.
The platform's latest update gives parents flexibility to set Shorts viewing time anywhere from 15 minutes to two hours, with an option to block Shorts entirely coming soon.
Parents overseeing teen accounts can adjust these limits throughout the day based on different situations. For example, they can restrict Shorts to zero during homework time and increase it to 60 minutes during long car rides for entertainment.
New Controls Address Teen Screen Time Concerns
YouTube described this as an industry-first feature that gives parents direct control over how much short-form video content their children consume, according to TechCrunch.
The controls specifically target Shorts, YouTube's answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels, which has raised concerns among parents about addictive scrolling behavior in young users. Research has shown that adolescents addicted to short-form videos experience delayed sleep onset and higher levels of social anxiety.
Additionally, teens spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on social media platforms overall, with YouTube being the most popular platform among 13 to 17-year-olds.
The update builds on the protections YouTube already has in place for users under 18. Parents with supervised accounts can now customize bedtime reminders and take-a-break notifications for their teens, though these features are automatically enabled by default for all teen accounts.
YouTube also has Family Center, which lets parents manage supervised accounts through their own Google accounts and the Family Link app.
Children and teenagers cannot change or disable the time limit settings themselves. The restrictions only apply to supervised accounts, which are linked to parent accounts and require parental oversight. Parents can switch between multiple family accounts on shared devices with just a few taps in the mobile app, the Indian Express reported.
Industry-Wide Push for Youth Safety
YouTube is also rolling out a simplified sign-up process in the coming weeks to help parents create supervised accounts for minors more easily. The platform will make account management simpler while automatically placing new teen accounts into protected modes with default safeguards.
These parental control updates follow similar moves by other social media platforms facing pressure from families, advocates, and lawmakers about youth safety online. Meta implemented content restrictions on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger last year, while TikTok has enforced time limits for users under 18 since 2023.
YouTube has also updated its content recommendation guidelines for teen users, prioritizing videos that promote curiosity, life skills, and reliable information while limiting repeated recommendations of videos that could harm body image or mental health, as per Engadget.
