What can I do with the messaging bot?
Everything below works the same on both Telegram and WhatsApp. Just message the bot in plain language — no commands to memorize.
Approve or deny channel requests
When your child asks for a new channel, you'll get a notification with Approve and Deny buttons. Tap one and you're done.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| See pending requests | "Any new requests?" |
| Approve a request | Tap the Approve button, or say "approve it" |
| Deny a request | Tap the Deny button, or say "deny that one" |
One child? The bot knows who you mean automatically. With multiple children, it only asks when it's not clear.
Add, remove, or view approved channels
You can manage your child's approved channel list right from the chat.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Add a channel | "Add Cocomelon for my son" |
| Remove a channel | "Remove Cocomelon from Sara's list" |
| See all approved channels | "What channels does my daughter have?" |
You can refer to a channel in any way:
- By name: "Cocomelon"
- By handle: "@MrBeast"
- By URL: "youtube.com/@MrBeast"
If the bot finds multiple matches, it shows buttons so you can pick the right one.
WhatsApp: If there are more than 3 matches, only the top 3 are shown as buttons. Try a more specific name to narrow it down.
Manage playlists
Approve entire YouTube playlists so your child can watch all videos in the collection — great for educational series or curated content.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Add a playlist | "Add this playlist: [YouTube URL]" |
| Remove a playlist | "Remove the math playlist" |
| See all playlists | "Show playlists for my son" |
Playlist limits: Basic plan — 3 playlists per child. Premium and Lifetime — 10 per child.
Set up content categories (Auto-pilot)
Choose broad content categories and Auto-pilot will allow matching videos automatically.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Allow a category | "Allow science videos for Sara" |
| Remove a category | "Remove gaming from my son's list" |
| Replace all categories | "Only allow educational and science" |
| See current categories | "What categories does she have?" |
Available categories: Educational, Science & Tech, Animation & Anime, Gaming, Animals & Nature, Entertainment, Sports, Music, Comedy, Arts & Creative, Cooking & Food
The bot understands short names too — "science" matches "Science & Tech."
Block channels and keywords
Block specific channels or keywords that you never want your child to see, regardless of other settings.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Block a channel | "Block [channel name]" |
| Unblock a channel | "Unblock [channel name]" |
| Block videos with a keyword | "Block videos with 'scary' in the title" |
| Remove a keyword | "Remove the keyword 'scary'" |
| See what's blocked | "Show blocked channels" or "Show blocked keywords" |
Change YouTube controls
Adjust how YouTube works for your child — block Shorts, hide comments, and more.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Block or allow Shorts | "Block Shorts for my son" |
| Hide or show comments | "Hide comments for Sara" |
| Turn filtering on or off | "Turn off filtering" |
| Turn AI analysis on or off | "Enable AI analysis" |
| Change safety level | "Set strict mode for my daughter" |
Safety levels: Strict, Moderate, or Relaxed.
Turning off content filtering or AI analysis is a safety-sensitive change. The bot will explain what will happen and ask you to confirm before making the change.
Create, edit, or delete child profiles
Manage your children's profiles without leaving the chat.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Create a new child | "Create a profile for Emma, she's 8" |
| Change a child's name | "Rename my son's profile to Alexander" |
| Update a child's age | "Emma is 9 now" |
| See all children | "Show me all my children" |
| Delete a child profile | "Delete Emma's profile" |
| Reactivate a deleted profile | "Bring back the profile I deleted" |
Deleting is reversible. Deleted profiles are deactivated, not erased. You can reactivate them any time as long as you have an available child slot.
Manage devices
See connected devices, rename them, deactivate protection temporarily, or remove a device you no longer use.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| See connected devices | "Show connected devices" |
| Pair a new device | "I need a new pairing code for my son" |
| Rename a device | "Rename Emma's device to School Laptop" |
| Deactivate a device | "Turn off protection on Emma's iPad" |
| Reactivate a device | "Turn Emma's iPad protection back on" |
| Remove a device permanently | "Remove the laptop we sold" |
Pairing codes expire after 15 minutes.
Removing a device is permanent. Unlike deactivating, removing a device deletes it completely. You'll need to generate a new pairing code to add it again.
Add or reduce child slots
Your subscription determines how many children you can have. You can add more slots or reduce unused ones right from the chat.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Check how many slots you have | "How many children can I add?" |
| Add more child slots | "Add 2 more child slots" |
| Reduce unused slots | "Reduce to 2 child slots" |
Slot limits by plan: Free — 1 child. Paid plans — up to 10 children. Lifetime — fixed slots. Charges for added slots are prorated on your next invoice.
Set rules the bot remembers
Tell the bot your preferences and it will apply them automatically in future conversations.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Save a rule | "No gaming channels for my son" |
The bot picks up on rules naturally. Say "I don't want any gaming content for Alex" and it saves it as a preference. If a future request conflicts with your rule, the bot will flag it.
Check what your child has been watching
Get a quick summary of your child's viewing activity.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| View activity | "What has my son been watching?" |
You can ask for the last 24 hours, 7 days, or 30 days.
Search help articles
Not sure how to do something? Ask the bot.
| What you want to do | What to say |
|---|---|
| Find help | "How do I install the extension?" |
The bot will search WhitelistVideo's help articles and return the most relevant answer.
Need help with something the bot can't do? Contact us at support@whitelist.video