Australia Under-16 YouTube Ban: Parental Control Setup for Signed-Out Kids (2026)

The Current State of YouTube Controls in Australia (2026)

Until late 2025, Australian parents had a decent middle ground: YouTube Supervised Accounts. You could link your child’s account to yours, pick a content level, and keep an eye on their history. It wasn't perfect, but it worked.

Everything changed when Australia’s social media age laws kicked in. Instead of trying to comply with the new rules, YouTube just pulled the plug on supervised accounts for under-16s here. The feature is gone, and there’s no sign of it coming back.

So, what’s left in the official toolkit?

• Restricted Mode: This is just a filter, not a lock. It tries to hide "mature" content, but it’s easy to turn off and misses plenty of questionable videos.
• YouTube Kids app: A walled garden for the younger crowd. Great for toddlers, but your 12-year-old will probably find it embarrassing.
• Screen Time / Family Link: These are great for setting a "bedtime" for the app, but they can’t see what’s happening *inside* YouTube. It’s all or nothing.

If your kids are over 10, these options usually fall short. Here is a look at how to set up what’s left, plus a way to fill the gap YouTube left behind.

How to supervise YouTube for an under-16 now they’re signed out

Once an under-16 is signed out, parents lose YouTube's channel blocking and supervision tools, and Restricted Mode only filters the browser it is switched on in. WhitelistVideo restores channel-level control without the child logging in to YouTube: pair the child's iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, computer or Android TV with a 6-digit code, approve the channels you want, and everything else stays blocked, Shorts included. It is built primarily for ages 8-15, and younger children can use it too.

The ban restricts accounts, not watching. Google’s own announcement says that under-16s in Australia are signed out automatically and that "viewers can continue to watch YouTube while signed out", and the eSafety Commissioner confirms the law does not restrict logged-out access. YouTube Kids is not covered by the ban. So the signed-out child still watches, just without the settings you used to set. Because WhitelistVideo never needs your child to log in to YouTube, it is unaffected by the ban.

Option 1: YouTube Restricted Mode (Free, Weak)

Restricted Mode is the most basic tool available. It uses automated systems to hide videos that might be inappropriate. It’s better than nothing, but only just.

How to enable Restricted Mode on desktop (Chrome)

1. Go to youtube.com and sign into your child’s account.
2. Click the profile icon in the top right corner.
3. Look at the bottom of the menu for Restricted Mode.
4. Switch it to On.
5. Note: To actually lock this so they can't just switch it back, you have to set this up through Google Family Link while signed into your own account.

How to enable Restricted Mode on iPhone/iPad (YouTube app)

1. Open the YouTube app on their device.
2. Tap the profile icon, then Settings.
3. Find Restricted Mode Filtering and set it to Strict.
4. To keep them from changing it, you’ll need to use the iOS Screen Time settings (Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions).

How to enable Restricted Mode on Android

1. Open the YouTube app.
2. Tap the profile icon > Settings > General.
3. Toggle Restricted Mode to on.
4. Lock it down using the Family Link app on your own phone.

The honest assessment

Think of Restricted Mode as a suggestion rather than a rule. YouTube admits it isn't 100% accurate, and in my experience, it misses about 20–30% of stuff you probably don't want your kids seeing. The biggest flaw? If a kid signs out of their account, Restricted Mode often resets or becomes easy to bypass. It’s a fine baseline, but don't trust it to do the heavy lifting.

Option 2: YouTube Kids App (Free, Limited)

YouTube Kids is a completely separate app. It’s much safer because the library is hand-picked, but that’s also why older kids tend to hate it.

What YouTube Kids offers

• Four age settings: Preschool, Younger, Older, or "Approve Content Yourself."
• No comments section (which is a huge plus).
• No "rabbit hole" algorithm leading to random viral junk.
• A built-in timer to end screen time automatically.

How to set up YouTube Kids in Australia

1. Grab the "YouTube Kids" app from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Open it and select I'm a parent.
3. Sign in with *your* Google account.
4. Create a profile for your child.
5. Pick a content level. Older (8–12) is the most common, but Only Approved Content is the safest.
6. Set a parental passcode immediately so they can't get into the settings.

The honest assessment

If your child is under 10, stop here—this is what you should use. It’s clean, safe, and easy to manage. But once a kid hits year 5 or 6, they’ll start noticing that the "cool" creators they hear about at school aren't on YouTube Kids. They’ll want the real app. When that happens, YouTube Kids loses its effectiveness because they'll just find ways to use the main site on other devices.

Option 3: WhitelistVideo (Built for Ages 8–15, Younger Kids Welcome)

Since YouTube took away supervised accounts, WhitelistVideo has become the go-to for Australian parents. It gives you back the control YouTube removed: the ability to choose exactly which channels are allowed. It doesn't matter what YouTube changes in their settings because this works independently.

How it works

You create a "whitelist" of channels you trust—think NASA, Mark Rober, or their favorite Minecraft creator. When your child goes to YouTube, those are the *only* videos that will load. No sidebar distractions, no weird "Up Next" videos, and no comments. If it’s not on your list, it’s blocked.

Step-by-step setup: Desktop or laptop (Windows/Mac)

1. Head to whitelist.video and set up your parent account.
2. Give your child their own Standard (non-administrator) account on the computer.
3. Install the WhitelistVideo extension in Chrome or Edge inside that account.
4. Go to your dashboard at app.whitelist.video and paste in the links to the channels you want to allow.
5. Run the desktop installer from whitelist.video/download as administrator. It locks the extension and blocks Incognito, Guest mode and new profiles.
6. Block other browsers in Microsoft Family Safety (Windows) or Screen Time (Mac) so they can't just open a different browser. Don't block youtube.com.
7. Optional: block google.com and set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine.

Step-by-step setup: Chromebook

1. Add the WhitelistVideo extension from the Chrome Web Store.
2. Sign in with the child’s profile credentials.
3. Manage everything from your own phone or computer via the dashboard.
4. In Family Link, block Guest mode and Incognito, require approval for apps, and turn off Family Link's own YouTube restrictions. Don't block youtube.com.
5. If your child uninstalls the extension, you are alerted by email. To make it impossible to uninstall, buy a Google Workspace subscription (about US $5 per month; check Google's pricing for your region), set yourself up as the administrator and force-install the extension from the Google Admin console. A school-managed Chromebook is already admin-managed.
6. Optional: block google.com and set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine.

Step-by-step setup: iPhone or iPad

1. Download the WhitelistVideo app from the App Store.
2. Log in with the child’s profile.
3. Have them use this app instead of the standard YouTube app.
4. Pro tip: Allow WhitelistVideo's Screen Time access, block or delete the YouTube app when the app asks, let the YouTube access check pass and set the parent PIN. On your iPhone, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow and require approval for new installs. Don't block youtube.com in Screen Time, as that stops approved videos playing, and there's no need to block Safari: WhitelistVideo blocks youtube.com in Safari and other browsers whenever it isn't on screen. Optional: block google.com in Screen Time and set DuckDuckGo as Safari's search engine.

Step-by-step setup: Android phone or tablet

1. Get the WhitelistVideo app from Google Play.
2. Log in and set up the profile.
3. In Google Family Link on your phone, block the YouTube, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids apps.
4. Block every browser except Chrome (Family Link's web filter only works in Chrome), then under Google Chrome → Manage sites → Blocked, add youtube.com. WhitelistVideo doesn't use Chrome, so the app is unaffected.
5. Set the parent PIN in the WhitelistVideo app.
6. Optional: in Chrome, block google.com and set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine.

Device-by-Device Setup Summary

مرر أفقياً لرؤية جميع الأعمدة.

If your kid jumps between a school Chromebook, a home PC, and a phone, WhitelistVideo is usually the easiest way to keep the rules consistent without having to mess with settings on every single device individually.

Combining Layers: The Recommended Stack

One tool is rarely enough. The best setup usually involves layering a few different things so there are no gaps.

For children aged 4–9

• Stick to the YouTube Kids app.
• Turn off the search function so they can only watch what’s on the home screen.
• Use Screen Time or Family Link to make sure they can't download the "grown-up" YouTube app.

For children aged 10–15

• Use WhitelistVideo to control the actual content (the "what").
• Keep Restricted Mode on as a backup, just in case.
• Use Screen Time to manage the "how long" (daily limits).
• On a PC, run the lock-in installer so the extension can't be removed, and block other browsers in Microsoft Family Safety so they don't just download Firefox to bypass your hard work.

On school Chromebooks

Keep in mind that if the school owns the Chromebook, they own the settings. You usually can't install your own extensions there. Most Australian schools have their own filters, but they aren't always perfect. It’s worth asking your school’s IT coordinator what they use to filter YouTube during school hours.

The goal here isn't to be a spy—it's to create a safe space where they can still enjoy the good parts of YouTube. I’ve found that if you let your kids help choose the channels for the whitelist, they’re much less likely to try and break the system.