How to block YouTube on a Chromebook

First, check who manages the Chromebook

The owner decides the method.

On a personal Chromebook, a parent can use Family Link to block sites for a supervised child account. On a school-managed Chromebook, the school controls site rules and extensions. A parent cannot override those policies from home.

Select the time in the bottom right corner. A managed device icon means an organization manages the Chromebook. Google says to ask that administrator for help with a managed device.

If the school owns it, skip to the school section below. If your family owns it, Family Link gives you the direct site block.

Block YouTube on a personal Chromebook

Your child must use a Google Account supervised through Family Link. If the Chromebook has not been set up for a child, sign out, select Add person, then choose For a child and follow the prompts.

Then add the website block from the Family Link app:

1. 1
   Open Family Link and select your child.
2. 2
   Open Controls, then Google Chrome and Web.
3. 3
   Under Manage sites, open Approved sites and Blocked sites.
4. 4

   Choose Add a website and add the domain youtube.com to Blocked sites.

5. 5

   Open YouTube in the child's Chromebook account and confirm that Family Link blocks it. Test a direct video link too.

Google keeps these steps in its guide to managing a child's Chromebook. Google also recommends that the parent who owns the Chromebook turn off guest mode and control who can add users. Otherwise, a child could browse outside the supervised account.

If the Chromebook has a YouTube app from Google Play, treat that as a separate app. In Family Link, open Screen time, then Time limits, then App limits. Select YouTube and change it from allowed to blocked. Google notes that some system apps cannot be blocked.

If the school manages the Chromebook

Stop looking for a parent setting on the device. The district's Google Admin rules decide which sites open and which extensions can be installed.

Ask the school for a clear answer to three questions:

1. Is YouTube allowed for this student's account outside class hours?
2. Does the district enforce Restricted Mode or an approved video list?
3. Can it block youtube.com for the student, a class, or a time window?

Google documents URL blocklists for managed Chrome and ChromeOS, but only an administrator can set them. The school may keep YouTube open because teachers assign videos through it.

The fuller guide to this case is YouTube parental controls on a school Chromebook. If the device is a managed Windows or Mac laptop, read how to block YouTube on a school laptop.

Keep YouTube but filter it on a personal Chromebook

If a full block stops useful videos too, Vidward can keep regular YouTube and apply parent-set rules in Chrome. It is a desktop browser extension plus a parent dashboard.

Parents can approve Chrome Web Store extensions for a supervised child on a personal Chromebook. Install Vidward in the child's account, approve it when Chrome asks, then link it with the activation code from your dashboard.

You can block channels, videos, and title words. You can also remove Shorts and keep autoplay off.

Vidward does not work around school management. It does not filter the YouTube app on phones or tablets, TVs, consoles, or the network. On a school Chromebook, the district must allow the extension before it can run.

For more browser detail, read how to block YouTube in Chrome.