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For many teens, YouTube is the ultimate Community for everything from studying for exams to catching up on the latest vlogs, podcasts, and sports highlights. Recognizing the digital reality of today’s youth, YouTube is introducing several new updates designed to help parents guide their children’s online habits with ease.
To help teens be more intentional with their time, YouTube is launching new ways to help families manage screen time for their kids. These include:
● The Shorts Timer: A first-of-its-kind tool that gives parents tight control over how long their teens spend on short-form content. For example, a parent can set the timer to zero when it’s time to focus on homework, then adjust it to 60 minutes during free time such as a long family car ride or a weekend break. Soon, parents will even have the option to set the limit to zero permanently if they choose.
Additionally, parents using supervised accounts can now customize “Bedtime” and “Break” reminders, building on existing health protections to ensure teens get enough rest.
● Easier Account Switching for the Whole Family: Understanding that many households share mobile devices or tablets, YouTube is making the experience more seamless. In the coming weeks, a new sign-up experience will allow parents to easily create accounts for their children and switch between them in the mobile app with just a few taps.
This ensures that every family member—from the youngest child to the oldest teen—gets a personalized viewing experience with content settings and recommendations suited to their age.
● A blueprint for high-quality content: YouTube is also launching new principles and a guide for creators to help steer teens toward content that is fun, age-appropriate, and high-quality.
Developed in collaboration with global experts—including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital—these guidelines help YouTube’s systems prioritize educational and inspiring videos. This means high-quality content from channels like Khan Academy, CrashCourse, and TED-Ed will get more visibility, ensuring teens find the right balance of entertainment and learning.
“At YouTube, we believe in protecting children within the digital world, not from the digital world,” said Jennifer Flannery O’Connor, Vice President of Product Management at YouTube. “We’ve spent over a decade building tailored protections for our youngest viewers based on what parents and experts tell us they need: better controls, age-appropriate content, and simple account management.”
YouTube remains committed to evolving alongside the families who use the platform, ensuring it stays a safe and inspiring space for all generations to explore.
