Is YouTube Kids safe for your child?

What does YouTube itself say?

YouTube says it works hard to exclude content that isn't suitable for kids, but that it can't manually review all videos. It also says your child may find content you don't want them to watch. Videos available through Search and Recommended aren't always reviewed by a person.

Which settings can you choose?

Preschool, Younger, Older

Age levels that decide which videos appear.

Approve content yourself

Your child sees only the collections, channels and videos you approved, and can't search.

Search off

Your child can't search, and is limited to videos and channels verified by YouTube Kids.

For a child of 4 to 7, we'd start with Approve content yourself. It takes some time but gives you the most control.

Are there ads?

Yes. YouTube says it allows limited paid ads, marked "Ad", so the app can be free. Videos uploaded by users aren't marked as ads, even if they promote something. With YouTube Premium, you can watch without paid ads.

What do you do if a bad video appears?

• Report it. YouTube asks parents to tell it when they find something inappropriate.
• Check and clear the watch history in your settings, if you want to reset recommendations.
• Tell your child: "You did the right thing by showing me."

What else helps?

A timer, and keeping the tablet in a shared room. The most useful rule is that your child calls you if something odd or scary comes on. For the device itself, read how to set up parental controls.