How to block a YouTube channel

What YouTube's own blocking actually does

YouTube has two features that sound like channel blocking, and neither one is:

• "Don't recommend channel" (from the three-dot menu on a video) only affects recommendations. The channel still appears in search results, and any direct link still plays.
• Blocking a user on their channel page only stops them from commenting on your videos. It changes nothing about what your child can watch.

There is no "never show this channel" switch in regular YouTube. If your child searches for the channel or follows a link from a friend, they will see it.

Options that do work

• YouTube Kids lets parents approve or block content per channel, but it is a separate app aimed at younger children with its own limited catalog.
• A supervised YouTube account through Family Link lets parents block videos and channels for the child's Google account, on devices where they stay signed in to that account.

Both are per-account solutions: they depend on your child staying signed in to the right account and stop working the moment they sign out or switch.

Block any channel in your child's browser with Vidward

Vidward enforces rules in the browser itself, so the block holds no matter which account is signed in.

1. 1

   Install the Vidward extension in the browser your child uses and link it with the activation code from your parent dashboard.

2. 2
   Open your child's Channels tab in the dashboard.
3. 3

   Search the channel by name, or paste its URL, and add it to the blocklist.

4. 4

   The channel disappears from their feed, search results, recommendations and direct links in their browser, immediately.

How to block a single video

Sometimes one video is the problem, not the whole channel. Regular YouTube cannot block a specific video either: "Not interested" only trims recommendations, and the video still plays from search or a shared link. A supervised account can block single videos, with the same sign-in limits as above.

Vidward blocks single videos the same way it blocks channels. In your child's Channels tab choose Video and paste the video's link, straight from the browser bar or the Share button. Regular watch links, short share links, and Shorts links all work, and so does a bare video ID. A clip link does not name the video it comes from, so for a clip open the full video and copy its link instead. The Activity tab shows what they watched and lets you block any channel from the list in one click.

This works in Approved channels only mode as well. Pick Video, paste the link, and choose block. A blocked video stays blocked even when its channel is approved.

Make it stick

A block your child can undo is a suggestion. Pair the blocklist with a standard account on Windows or on a Mac, and, if they use Chrome, run the tamper-proof setup so the extension itself cannot be removed.

Also worth reading: how to block YouTube Shorts and the complete guide to YouTube parental controls.