How to block YouTube on Microsoft Edge

The direct answer

Microsoft Family Safety can block YouTube in Edge for one family member. It is the built-in method Microsoft supports.

The child must use Edge while signed in to the Microsoft account in your family group. The rule does not block YouTube in Chrome, Firefox, or another browser.

Add the YouTube block in Family Safety

If your child is not in your Microsoft family group, sign in at family.microsoft.com, select Add a family member, and add them as a Member.

Then set the Edge rule:

1. 1

   Open the Microsoft Family Safety app or website and select your child.

2. 2
   Open their overview and select Edge as the platform.
3. 3
   Turn on Filter inappropriate websites and searches.
4. 4

   Under Blocked sites, add youtube.com. If you want a short allowlist instead, turn on Only use allowed websites and leave YouTube off the list.

5. 5

   Sign in to Windows as your child, open Edge with their Microsoft account, and test the YouTube home page and a direct video link.

Microsoft keeps the current controls in its Family Safety site filter guide.

Stop the easy browser bypass

Microsoft says its web and search filters work only in Edge. A child who can open another browser can still reach YouTube there.

In Family Safety, open Apps and games for the child and block other browsers that appear. On the PC, make sure the child uses a standard Windows account so they cannot install another browser without an administrator password.

Keep the adult Windows account locked. Test the rule from the child's account, not yours. Family Safety targets a family member, so YouTube should still open for an adult Windows user.

For that full setup, read how to block YouTube for one user account.

When a full YouTube block is too broad

Family Safety treats youtube.com as one site. It cannot allow a science channel while blocking a gaming channel. It also cannot remove Shorts while leaving long videos available.

Vidward is built for that narrower job in Chrome. It is a Chrome desktop extension plus a parent dashboard. A parent can block channels, videos, and title words, remove Shorts, and keep autoplay off.

That means switching the child's YouTube use to Chrome and installing Vidward there. It is not a Family Safety add-on, and it does not turn Edge's site block into a content filter.

Vidward does not filter the YouTube app on a phone or tablet. It does not cover TVs, consoles, or your network.

If you want YouTube gone in Edge, stay with Family Safety. If you want to keep some YouTube with parent-set rules, read how to block YouTube in Chrome.

Remove the block later

Return to the child's Family Safety overview, open Edge, and remove youtube.com from Blocked sites. Test from their signed-in Edge window.

If the site still fails for every Windows user, check whether the PC also has a hosts file or network block. The Windows YouTube blocking guide explains that wider method.