YouTube has rolled out new parental control features that give parents greater control over how much time their children and teenagers spend watching YouTube Shorts, the platform’s short-form video feed. The update is aimed at addressing growing concerns around excessive screen time and endless scrolling among young users.
Under the new tools, parents using supervised child or teen accounts can now set daily time limits specifically for Shorts. These limits can range from short viewing intervals up to two hours per day. YouTube is also preparing to introduce a “zero minutes” option, which will allow parents to completely block Shorts when needed, such as during homework time, study hours, or before bedtime. Importantly, children and teens will not be able to change these settings on their own.
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In addition to time limits, YouTube is expanding its wellbeing features for young users. Parents can now add custom bedtime reminders and break alerts, encouraging healthier viewing habits and regular pauses from screen use. These reminders are designed to help children balance online activity with sleep, study, and offline routines.
The platform is also working to improve age-appropriate content recommendations, ensuring that younger viewers are shown videos better suited to their age group. This includes refining how content is filtered and suggested on supervised accounts to create a safer and more suitable viewing experience.
YouTube says these updates are part of its ongoing effort to support families and promote responsible digital habits. By giving parents more control and flexibility, the company aims to reduce the risk of overuse while still allowing kids to enjoy creative and educational content.
The new parental control features are being gradually rolled out and will be available through YouTube’s Family Link and supervised account settings, helping parents guide their children’s online experience more effectively.
