How to block YouTube on BT and Sky Broadband

BT and Sky offer different kinds of control

BT Parental Controls can add YouTube hosts to a household block list. BT also has access schedules for selected devices or groups.

Sky Broadband Shield filters the whole home connection. Sky WiFi Max adds profiles, device pauses, and downtime schedules in the My Sky app.

None of these choices gives a clean YouTube only block for one child on every connection. Domain lists have gaps and side effects. Device schedules stop all internet, not just YouTube.

BT: use the current YouTube list with care

BT publishes its own YouTube domain list in My BT:

1. 1

   Sign in to My BT. Open Manage your extras, then Manage BT Parental Controls.

2. 2

   Select Manage Settings, then Manage allowed and blocked sites.

3. 3

   Under My blocked websites, add the YouTube hosts from BT's current guide. Save each entry.

4. 4

   Wait for BT to apply the rule. Restart a test device, then try the site, app, direct links, embeds, and Google sign in.

BT's current parental controls guide lists these hosts:

• www.youtubei.googleapis.com
• www.ytimg-edge-static.l.google.com
• www.redirector.googlevideo.com
• www.youtube.com

BT says the YouTube change can take up to two hours. BT also says it cannot promise full coverage because online services change.

The block applies to every device on the BT home connection. Some listed Google hosts carry video and shared service traffic, so embedded players and Google account handoffs can fail too.

BT: use access controls for a child or bedtime

For Smart Hub 3 and Smart Hub 2, open the My BT app, select View details on Broadband, then Hub Manager. BT places WiFi access controls under WiFi Security. Create a group and assign the child's devices.

Older Smart Hub models use 192.168.1.254, then Advanced Settings, then BT access control. The current BT access control guide lists a separate path for each hub.

Set the blocked start time, end time, and days. This stops all internet for the chosen devices. It is often the clearer choice for a bedtime rule.

Sky Broadband Shield applies to the home

Sky Broadband Shield is included with Sky Broadband. It filters devices on the home connection and supports allowed or blocked site exceptions. The settings are household wide, not a one child profile.

Sign in to Sky Broadband Shield and look for Manage exceptions. Add youtube.com, youtu.be, and youtube-nocookie.com to the blocked list. Save and test before adding googlevideo.com.

Blocking googlevideo.com can stop YouTube playback in other sites and apps. A wider Google list can disrupt sign in and unrelated Google tools. Sky's watershed changes content filter levels by time. It is not a YouTube only schedule.

Sky WiFi Max can pause a profile

If your package includes Sky WiFi Max, use a profile and Downtime instead of a domain list when the rule is about time.

1. 1

   Open the My Sky app, tap Broadband, then create or open a profile under Parental controls.

2. 2
   Assign every device the child uses on the Sky network.
3. 3

   Select Create a downtime schedule. Name it, choose the days, and set the blocked hours.

4. 4

   Test YouTube after buffered video has finished. Confirm that the rest of the internet is also unavailable until the schedule ends.

Sky publishes this path in its WiFi Max parental control guide. The pause can take a few minutes to stop a video that has already buffered.

BT and Sky home controls do not follow a phone onto cellular data, a hotspot, or another wifi network.

Keep YouTube with narrower controls

Google now lets a linked parent block an exact channel for a supervised child account. Family Center can also set the daily Shorts feed limit to zero.

Vidward cannot change a BT Hub, Sky Hub, ISP filter, or network schedule. It is a browser extension for the desktop, plus a parent dashboard. It does not filter phones, tablets, TVs, consoles, or the network.

If a child may keep YouTube on a computer, Vidward can set channel, video, title, Shorts, and autoplay rules in a desktop browser. For the general network limits, read how to block YouTube on your router. For a night rule, read how to block YouTube at certain times.