Parents
Staying Safe on YouTube
Keeping your child safe online
Setting privacy and safety controls
YouTube allows your child to watch videos, follow creators and share their own content. What they post, watch and interact with can influence how they think and feel. Understanding how YouTube works, the risks involved and the controls available can help you guide your child towards a safer online experience.
How can videos on YouTube affect your child?
YouTube’s recommendations are personalised. It learns from what they watch, search for and interact with, and recommends similar content that it thinks your child likes.
Even though YouTube has safety settings for younger users, your child may still come across videos that:
Spread misleading information
Use manipulated or AI-generated content
Encourage risky behaviour or set unrealistic expectations
Contain extreme, violent or hateful views
If videos on YouTube start to affect your child’s mood or behaviour, it may be time to review their settings with them.
What are YouTube’s default protections for younger users?
The minimum age to create a YouTube account independently in Singapore is 13 years old. However, some public content may be accessible without an account.
If your child is below 13 years old, consider using YouTube Kids or a supervised kid account to create a more age-appropriate viewing experience:
YouTube Kids
A separate, simpler app that offers a safer viewing experience designed for children
Supervised kids account
A parent-managed version of YouTube that lets you choose age-appropriate content settings and manage your child’s screen time and activities with parental controls
For users aged 13 to 17, some privacy and safety settings are turned on by default to provide extra protection.
Settings to encourage healthy screen habits
A take-a-break reminder appears every 60 minutes and a bedtime reminder appears at 10pm daily on the YouTube mobile app
Autoplay is turned off, so another video will not automatically play after a video ends
Settings to limit interactions with strangers
Videos your child uploads are set to private by default
No one can comment on or share their videos
Their live streams are private and can only be viewed and shared by people who have the link
Filters to reduce inappropriate content
Age-restricted videos are hidden and not viewable
How can you further protect your child on YouTube?
Even with default protections in place, you can add extra safeguards by reviewing settings together and agreeing on what safe usage looks like in your family.
Discuss what your child sees
Review content controls together so that your child views content that is suitable for them. Encourage your child to:
Tap “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel” on content they do not want to see more of
Turn on Restricted Mode to hide mature content
Filter out or hide comments or keywords that bother them
Unsubscribe from YouTube channels that do not make them feel good
Reset or turn off recommendations by deleting or turning off your watch history
Go through interaction settings together
Together, review the personal data visible on your child’s channel and manage who can interact with them. You and your child can decide on:
Whether they should hide their channel to make their channel name, videos, likes, subscriptions and subscribers private
Whether they should make their playlists private or unlisted to manage who can find, view or share their content
Whether they should moderate their live chats
Whether there are users they should hide their channel from to remove their comments and prevent them from creating clips of their videos or live streams
Whether there are accounts your child should block
Support healthy screen habits
Find out how YouTube makes your child feel and agree on healthy boundaries.
Set take-a-break reminders, bedtime reminders and a Shorts feed limit to help track and manage their screen time on YouTube
Check in on how YouTube makes your child feel after long sessions
Encourage breaks if watching starts to feel overwhelming
Oversee your child’s activity on YouTube with a supervised teen account
Link your YouTube account to your child’s account to set up a supervised teen account so you can:
See your child’s activities on YouTube
Set your child’s daily screen time limits for YouTube
Choose your child’s content settings
What else can you do when something does not feel right?
Sometimes, certain content or interactions may cause your child to feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
When that happens, let your child know that:
They do not have to respond or explain themselves
Saving screenshots or links can help if you or your child wants to report harmful behaviour
Blocking or reporting is okay
Talking to you or a trusted adult can help them figure out next steps
Getting support early can prevent things from getting worse
Where can you learn more about YouTube’s safety tools?
Visit these resources to find out more about how to help your child stay safe on YouTube:
YouTube Help Centre: Get help with your child’s account, settings and security, and find answers to common questions
Parent’s Guide: Explore tips and resources for parents of teens on YouTube
You can also explore other online safety resources on our website for more advice on keeping your child safe online.