YouTube

How YouTube works

YouTube features videos and live streams that cover almost every topic. Users can:

• watch, create and share videos
• leave likes and comments on videos
• chat during live streams
• subscribe to channels

While a premium paid-for-version of YouTube is available, all the videos on the platform can be watched for free with adverts.

Minimum age requirements

YouTube’s terms of service say that you may create an account if you are over 13 years old. However, most content on the platform can be viewed without an account and young people of all ages can create an account if they have their parent or carer’s permission.

There is currently no form of age verification to confirm that a user is 13 or older. This means it is possible for a child under the age of 13 to create an account using a fake birthday.

Features

Badges

Users can earn badges by:

• joining a channel’s membership
• gaining subscribers
• being active on a channel

Badges are purely cosmetic. They do not change how YouTube can be used. 

Channel memberships

Users can purchase a monthly membership to a creator’s channel. This gives them access to exclusive content such as videos, live streams, community posts and Q&As. 

Community posts

Posts that allow creators to interact with viewers in different ways. This can include polls, quizzes, images and videos. Accounts that are supervised or set to ‘Made for Kids’ do not have access to Community polls. 

Go Live Together

An extension to the Live feature, this feature lets 2 creators stream live together without needing to be in the same location.

Incognito mode

By tapping their profile picture and selecting ‘Turn on incognito’ users can search and view whatever they want without it appearing in their search or viewing history. Everything done in this mode is private, even when logged in. Videos users watch will not affect their future recommendations but could also be used to watch videos secretly. This feature is only available within the mobile app, not on a web browser.

Supervised accounts

These are accounts created for young people. They are connected to Google Family Link, allowing you to manage what your child watches and does on YouTube. 

YouTube Live

Users can broadcast or watch live streams using the ‘YouTube Live’ feature. It gives creators the ability to interact with their fans in real-time. The streams have a live chat, letting viewers leave comments and interact with the creator and other viewers. 

Live streams are not edited, but they are monitored in the same way as all other content on the platform. 

Users must have at least 50 subscribers to live stream from a mobile device, but there is no subscriber limit for livestreaming from a PC. To live stream, users must also be aged 16 or older.

YouTube Premium

A paid-for subscription that gives users access to a range of benefits such as:

• ad-free videos and YouTube videos
• the ability to download videos and music to a device 

YouTube Shopping

Allows video creators to link an e-commerce store to their YouTube channel so that viewers can find and purchase products.

YouTube Shorts

Short-form videos similar to those on TikTok. Videos can be up to 3 minutes long, but many are under a minute.

Terms

Channel

A place where users can share the content they have created.

Comments

Users can comment on videos and interact with other users in the comment section.

Likes and dislikes

Users can leave a ‘like’ or a ‘dislike’ on videos to show their opinion on the content. The number of likes is shown to the public, while dislikes are hidden. Liking a video will cause the algorithm to suggest more similar content.

Share

Videos can be shared to social media or via a link that can be pasted anywhere. 

Subscribe

Allows users to follow a content creator’s channel and receive notifications whenever they post an update. 

Tags

Keywords that video creators add to a video to help viewers find their content.

Thumbnail

An image that gives users an idea of what a video is about, similar to a poster for the video. 

YouTuber

A user that creates and uploads videos on YouTube.

What YouTube offers

Educational opportunities

YouTube has videos on a wide range of topics allowing young people to learn more about almost any topic. Many of these are educational, with creators sharing their knowledge on specialist subjects. 

Communities

Users can discover videos related to their hobbies or interests. In the comment section, they can connect and interact with others who share the same passions. Subscribing to channels can also give users access to community posts, where they can talk to creators and engage in conversations and polls with other fans. 

Creativity

YouTube offers a creative outlet, letting creators upload almost any kind of video they want, and potentially reach viewers across the globe. Young people using YouTube can nurture their creativity by uploading videos, or by finding inspiration in content made by others.

Alternative YouTube platforms

As well as the general YouTube video streaming platform YouTube also provides a platform designed for children and a platform that specialises in streaming audio.

YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is a version of YouTube that only features content suitable for children under 13 years of age. It is available as an Android or iOS app and you will need to set it up using your Google account. 

You can further customise your child’s YouTube Kids experience by restricting content to match your child’s age group. Age groups start at aged 4. 

There is a range of parental controls on YouTube Kids, including screen time limits and being able to choose what videos your child can watch. 

There are no social features like comment sections or YouTube Live.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music is an audio streaming platform that lets users listen to music and podcasts. The app can be downloaded and used for free, but a premium paid-for version is also available that allows users to download music and listen ad-free. 

YouTube Music is not suitable for children under the age of 13, as much of its content might include mature language and themes. For young people aged 13 and over, you can manage their listening through a supervised account, which allows you to set content restrictions and view your child’s activity. Restricted mode can also be activated to filter out mature content. However, this setting is controlled by the user, and so your child could turn it off at any time.

Managing risks

Inappropriate content

Hundreds of hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and it is inevitable that some of this content will include bad language, sexual themes or misinformation. This content might also be found in comment sections.

Depending on the type of content, YouTube will either remove the video from the platform or put it behind an age-gate so that users aged under 18 cannot access it. However, some inappropriate content can slip through the filters and be viewed by young people.

There are several steps you and your child can take to lower this risk.

Set up a supervised account

Setting up a supervised account for your child allows you to place content restrictions on their account, meaning they can only watch videos suitable for their age. You can also disable the comment section, incognito mode and other features.

Use YouTube Kids

If your child is not yet ready for the full YouTube platform, you can set up a YouTube Kids account for them. 

Report content and creators

If your child sees content that violates YouTube’s rules or is not correctly flagged as being for adults, they should report it so that no one else sees this content accidentally.

Nurture critical thinking

Empower your child to build their critical thinking skills, so that they can identify misinformation in videos. Tell them to fact-check anything they see using other sources. Creators must label content that utilises AI, but children should still learn to detect it. 

Manage subscriptions

By only subscribing to trusted creator’s channels, your child can reduce the risk of being suggested an inappropriate video by the algorithm. Review the channels they follow and discuss with them the type of content that is appropriate for them.

Contact from strangers

YouTube does not have a direct messaging feature. However, strangers are still able to contact your child by responding to them in the comment section or messaging in the chat of a YouTube Live. By using these communication channels, a user might convince your child to contact them on another platform that does have private messaging. 

There are actions you can take to reduce the chances of this happening.

Restrict comments

By turning on ‘restricted mode’ on your child’s account, you can disable the comment section for your child. This prevents any strangers from making contact.

Encourage your child to share their experiences with you

Let your child know that they should tell you if anyone asks them personal questions or to message them on a different platform.

Report and block

Teach your child to report and block any users that make them feel uncomfortable.

Notify authorities

If you believe someone is messaging your child in an attempt to groom them, report them to the police. Make sure you take screenshots as evidence to support your report.

Bullying and poor self-esteem

Online platforms like YouTube can cause people to be less empathetic, as they are not face-to-face with the people they interact with. It can also make them bolder in what they say as they can be anonymous and likely avoid consequences. This can lead to bullying behaviour and can have a negative effect on your child and their self-esteem regardless of whether they are a victim, perpetrator or witness.

There are actions you can take to reduce the chances of your child experiencing negative behaviour on YouTube and to help them avoid the negative impacts of using the platform.

Encourage reporting and blocking

Let your child know that they shouldn’t respond to negative comments. Instead, they should report and block the accounts engaging in this behaviour.

Restrict comments

If your child creates their own content, they might receive negative comments on their videos, which could have a negative impact on their self-esteem. Encourage your child to turn off the comment section on their videos to avoid this.

Activating ‘restricted mode’ on your child’s account will hide all comment sections, preventing them from seeing or getting involved in negative behaviour.

Talk about their online life

Having regular conversations with your child about their online life will help you understand what they are experiencing on the platform and make it easier for you to support them if they see anything that upsets them.

Overspending

Some creators have YouTube Shops and will promote and call out the products they have available during their videos. Others are paid to advertise brands and will highlight products or have discount codes in their videos. Young people might feel pressure to purchase these products, and this can lead to them spending more than they can afford. 

There are steps you can take to prevent your child from overspending.

Talk about spending

Talk with your child about the value of money by comparing the price of YouTuber merchandise to other things they could buy. You could then talk about this cost in relation to their pocket money or allowance.

Make agreements around how your child spends money. For example, needing to ask before buying something online or setting monthly spending limits. 

Disable in-app spending

Use the settings on your child’s mobile device to disable in-app purchases for the YouTube app, preventing your child from spending money on the app. For iPhone, this can be done in the iTunes & App Store Purchases section of the settings. For Android, you can use Google Family Link to set controls on in-app spending.

Excessive screen time

YouTube has a limitless amount of free content for young people to engage with. As such, they might find it difficult to manage their screen time. 

This risk is increased by YouTube’s autoplay feature, which automatically plays a new video after one finishes. As a result, young people can easily spend hours watching without choosing new videos. 

There are ways your can help manage your child’s screen time.

Set screen time controls

If your child has a supervised or kids account, you can set screen time limits to control how long they can watch videos for each day. The app will close once this time limit is reached. Screen time limits can also be set through your child’s device settings, limiting how long they can use the YouTube app for. 

Turn off autoplay

Turn off autoplay in YouTube’s settings to help stop your child from watching one video after another. 

Encourage critical thinking

Encourage your child to think about how they feel when watching videos and what they get from them. This can help them become more aware of their use of YouTube. 

Manage screentime

Encourage your child to take breaks when using YouTube.

Settings to protect your child

If you are concerned about your child using YouTube, there are a range of settings that can make their experience on the platform safer.

Set up supervised accounts

If your child wants to use YouTube, setting up a supervised account for them can help keep them safer. A supervised account lets you choose what kind of videos your child sees, block channels on their behalf and disable the autoplay feature.

How to set it up

• Sign into YouTube and select the profile picture. 
• Select the ’Settings’. 
• Go to ‘Family Centre’ and select ‘Manage kids’ profiles and features for teens’. 
• Choose ‘Invite a teen’. 
• Select ‘Create invite’ and share the invite link with your child or have them scan the QR code on a mobile device.

Enable or adjust content settings for your child

• From the profile on your linked parent account, select the gear icon and choose ‘Parent settings’. 
• Choose which account you would like to adjust content settings for. 
• Under ‘YouTube settings’, select ‘Edit’ next to ‘Content settings’. 
• Choose which content option you would like your child to have: 
  • ‘Explore’ shows content rated 9+ and no livestreams
  • ‘Explore more’ shows content rated 13+ and includes livestreams
  • ‘Most of YouTube’ shows nearly all content on YouTube except for 18+ videos or other videos deemed not appropriate

Explore reporting and blocking features

Exploring the reporting and blocking features on YouTube with your child can help them learn how and when to use these tools. 

Report a video

Below the video you wish to report, select the 3-dots icon and choose ‘Report’, following the onscreen instructions to complete.

Report a comment

Go to the comment you wish to report, select the 3-dots icon and choose ‘Report’, following the onscreen instructions to complete.

Screen time settings

In your child’s YouTube account settings, you can set reminders to take breaks and manage their screen time. 

Get break reminders

• Log on to your child’s YouTube account.
• Go to their profile page and click the gear icon.
• Under ‘Account’, select ‘General’.
• Toggle on ‘Remind me to take a break’.
• Choose how often you would like your child to receive break reminders.

Enable bedtime reminders

• Under your child’s YouTube Account settings, select ‘General’.
• Toggle on ‘Remind me when it’s bedtime’.
• Choose when you would like bedtime to begin and when it ends.

Enable restricted mode

Restricted mode hides potentially mature videos. While this is not always 100% effective and can be toggled off by your child, it does make it less likely that they will see inappropriate content. Make sure you explain to them why it is good to keep it enabled. 

To enable restricted mode:

• click the gear icon on your child’s profile when logged into their account
• under the ‘Account’ subheading, select ‘General’
• toggle on ‘Restricted Mode’

Disable in-app spending

Disabling in-app spending on iPhone

• Go to ‘Settings’.
• Select ‘iTunes & App Store Purchases’.
• Select 'In-app Purchases’.
• Set it to ‘Don’t Allow’.

Disabling in-app spending on Android

• Open ‘Google Play Store’.
• Select a profile and go to ‘Settings’.
• Select ‘Authentication’.
• Select ‘For all purchases through Google Play on this device’.

Useful links

• YouTube supervised accounts guide
• Internet Matters’ step-by-step parental controls guide