How to block YouTube on your child's iPhone, Shorts included

YouTube's terms of service for Germany say you may use the service if you are at least 16. Children of any age may use YouTube and YouTube Kids if a parent agrees, and anyone under 18 needs a parent's permission. According to Google, children in Germany may also only manage their own Google Account from 16; for younger children, parents create and manage the account. On the German App Store, the YouTube app is rated 13+ and YouTube Kids 4+.

For you this means YouTube isn't off limits for 9 to 15 year olds; it's your decision. You can block the app, supervise it with a parent-managed account, or use YouTube Kids for younger children. This guide covers the three options in turn.

With Family Sharing you block YouTube from your own iPhone. According to Apple, open Settings > Family, tap your child's name and then Apps & Websites. In the list of allowed apps, tap YouTube and then Block App. According to Apple, the app appears dimmed on the Home Screen but isn't deleted. The menu names are those of iOS 27; older versions use some different names.

If YouTube isn't installed yet, the age rating helps. Under Apps & Websites > Restrictions you set the highest age rating of apps your child may download. If you choose a rating below 13+, Apple says you get a notification when your child tries to download an app rated higher, YouTube included.

YouTube also runs on youtube.com. If only the app is blocked, your child keeps watching in Safari. According to Apple, under Apps & Websites you tap the Add button, enter youtube.com and block the website. Stricter is Ask to Browse: your child then has to request every new website from you. According to Apple, from iOS 27 this works in Safari and other supported browsers, and it is on by default for children under 13. What other gaps Screen Time has is covered in how kids get around Screen Time.

Many parents don't mind YouTube itself, just the Shorts feed, where one short video follows the next. Screen Time has no setting for Shorts alone: it blocks whole apps and websites. YouTube itself added a limit for parents in early 2026, and according to the YouTube blog it has been available across Europe since April 2026.

It requires an account with parental supervision (see the next section). According to YouTube's help, you set a daily limit for the Shorts feed in YouTube's Family Center under Time management, including zero minutes. Once the limit is reached, your child can't scroll the Shorts feed for the rest of the day. It resets automatically the next morning. The limit applies to the Shorts feed, not to regular videos. Without supervision, your child can set a Shorts limit for themselves, but according to YouTube they can dismiss it.

For children under 13 there is the supervised kid account. According to YouTube, since April 2026 you can also create it directly in YouTube, not only through Google Family Link. You choose a content level: Older kids generally shows content rated for viewers 9 and up, Teens 13 and up, Older teens 16 and up. Age-restricted videos aren't available to anyone under 18 at any level.

For 13 to 17 year olds there is the supervised teen account. It's voluntary: you and your child both have to agree, and according to YouTube either of you can end the supervision at any time. You then see, for example, how many videos your child uploads, how many comments they post and how many channels they subscribe to, and you get an email when they publish a new video or go live. In the Family Center you also set the Shorts limit, the take a break reminder and the bedtime reminder.

According to YouTube, both reminders are on by default for 13 to 17 year olds. They are reminders, not locks: your child can close the bedtime reminder or have it come back 15 minutes later. Without a supervised account, YouTube's Restricted Mode remains. According to YouTube, it has to be turned on separately on each device and in each browser; on the iPhone under your profile picture > Settings > General.

YouTube Kids is a separate app with videos made for children. According to YouTube, it has three age levels: up to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to 12. Your child can use the app without signing in. In the app's settings you set a timer; when the time is up, the app locks and shows that time is up. If your child wants more than YouTube Kids offers, the supervised kid account gives them regular YouTube at the content level you choose.

Often YouTube shouldn't be gone completely, just at school, during homework or at night, for example. According to Apple, the Screen Time Schedule lets you set time windows like Before School, School and After School for weekdays and weekends and choose which app categories are allowed in each window. With Time Allowances you limit how long your child can use apps of a category. Such a limit applies to every app in the category, not just YouTube. You can write down the rules you agree on in a family media agreement.

TaskBlue is for parents who want YouTube gone at set times. TaskBlue doesn't just block YouTube, it makes the app invisible: during focus it disappears from the home screen entirely, for example at school, on a schedule or in the morning until the BlueTag alarm is scanned. Afterwards it's back. You choose at least three apps or one category once, so YouTube together with other distracting apps. Under Make websites invisible you add YouTube as well, and youtube.com then won't open in Safari or other browsers while focus runs.

The BlueTag is a small key ring that comes with TaskBlue and stays with the parents. A scan with the BlueTag brings the apps back early. TaskBlue always makes the whole YouTube app invisible. If you only want to get rid of Shorts, YouTube's Shorts limit is the right tool; if YouTube should be gone for good, it's Apple's Block App. TaskBlue is only available for the iPhone. The comparison shows how it differs from Screen Time.