YouTube will introduce a feature that lets parents directly limit their children's Shorts viewing time to ease excessive Shorts viewing among children and teenagers. The key is that parents can set the Shorts feed timer to "0" to block Shorts viewing entirely.
On the 15th, YouTube announced an update with new protection features for child and teen users. The update includes stronger management of Shorts viewing time, the introduction of high-quality content guidelines for teens, and a streamlined setup process for parent supervision accounts.
Gas Graham, YouTube's head of health and public health content, said, "YouTube's philosophy is not to protect kids from the digital world, but to help them grow safely within it," adding, "The goal is to let teenagers learn, explore and be inspired online, while giving parents more control and confidence in the process."
The core of this update is strengthening parents' direct control over Shorts viewing time. Parents can freely set their children's Shorts viewing time as needed through supervised accounts, and during exam periods or times requiring academic focus, they can set the Shorts feed timer to "0" to restrict viewing. Conversely, during commutes or leisure time, they can flexibly adjust it to 30 minutes or 60 minutes.
Graham said, "The essence of this feature is putting parents in the driver's seat to design their children's viewing experience," emphasizing, "This is the industry's first case allowing parents to control the Shorts feed itself." He added, "It will provide real help in easing the pattern of teenagers unconsciously binge-watching Shorts."
Along with Shorts time limits, bedtime and break-time reminders will also be integrated into supervised accounts. Based on the existing Digital Wellbeing features, these alerts appear full-screen so teen users can naturally recognize rest signals even within their viewing flow. The features will be rolled out over the next few weeks in global markets, including Korea.
Measures to improve the quality of content exposed to teenagers will proceed in parallel. YouTube is newly introducing high-quality content guidelines suitable for teen viewers and directly incorporating them into its recommendation algorithm. The guidelines were co-developed by the YouTube Kids and Family Advisory Committee, UCLA researchers, and the Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS), and reviewed by global expert organizations including the American Psychological Association (APA), Boston Children's Hospital Digital Wellness Lab, and the Korean Committee for UNICEF.
Graham said, "Even if a single video is not problematic, repeated consumption of specific types of content can negatively affect teenagers' emotions and self-esteem," explaining, "We reset the standards so the recommendation system prioritizes content that can foster inspiration, curiosity, diverse perspectives, and life skills." As a result, content that sparks inquiry, broadens interests and thinking, and builds capacity to handle everyday challenges will be recommended to teens more often.
YouTube emphasized "age-appropriate experience design" rather than content blocking or blanket bans. Dr. Graham said, "Ages 12, 14, 16 and 17 are all different developmental stages," adding, "It's important to gradually expand autonomy according to a teenager's stage of growth." To that end, YouTube said it has built age-differentiated protection systems over the past 10-plus years, including a kids app, a pre-teen supervised experience, and linkage-based supervision for teen accounts.
The account setup process is also being simplified. Parents can more easily create new accounts for their children in the mobile app, and switch among family member accounts with just a few taps. The company said this will help even parents less familiar with technology to more easily manage their children's viewing environment.
Regarding the possibility of technical workarounds, as seen in Korea's failed teen game shutdown policy, Graham said, "We recognize that forced blocking alone cannot completely prevent workarounds," adding, "YouTube applies protection features by default to users judged to be under 18 using age inference technology, and is focused on practically strengthening parental supervision." He added, "Most important is the process of parents and children discussing principles for digital use together."
On the issue of Shorts addiction among adult users, the approach is differentiated. Graham said, "For adults, we must respect developmental stages and autonomous choice," explaining, "Forcing features on adults carries constraints in terms of freedom of expression and legal boundaries." However, "Adult users can also choose to use digital wellbeing tools like Shorts viewing time reminders, and YouTube will continue to advance these self-management tools," he said.
Graham stressed that this YouTube update is not a short-term response to regulatory moves in any particular country, but an extension of youth protection policies accumulated over a long period. He said, "Starting with the launch of YouTube Kids, we have continuously expanded protection features over the past 10-plus years," adding, "The features released today are on that same continuum, and more improvements will follow."
Graham also said, "This is not just a simple product update but also a personal responsibility," adding, "As a parent myself, I use these tools with my children and work through our family's values and priorities through conversation." He added, "Ensuring kids can learn and grow in a safe and trustworthy environment is YouTube's ongoing promise."