How to block YouTube on a Fire TV Stick

Use a Kids profile, not the regular Fire TV PIN

The best built in Fire TV route is an Amazon Kids profile. You choose the apps and content in that profile, leave YouTube out, then use a Child PIN to stop the child from leaving it.

Fire TV's general parental controls focus on purchases, ratings, and live TV. Amazon does not document them as a named YouTube app lock.

Create a Fire TV Kids profile without YouTube

Amazon Kids profiles are not available on every Fire TV model or in every country.

1. 1

   Say Go to profiles, or open Settings, then Accounts & Profile Settings.

2. 2
   Select Add Profile, then Create a New Profile.
3. 3

   Turn Is this a kids profile? on. Add the child's name, birth date, and icon.

4. 4

   Create a Child PIN. Keep it private because the PIN stops the child from leaving the Kids profile.

5. 5

   Review the apps and content shared with the child. Leave YouTube and Silk Browser off the list.

6. 6

   Enter the Kids profile and confirm that search does not open YouTube. Try to leave the profile without the PIN.

Amazon lists this path in its Fire TV Kids profile guide. It says the profile holds parent approved content and the Child PIN keeps the child inside it.

If YouTube was shared before, edit the child's content and remove it. Check the profile again after Fire TV syncs the change.

What the regular parental controls cover

Open Settings, then Preferences, then Parental Controls to set a Fire TV PIN. Use it for purchase protection, age based viewing limits, and other listed controls.

Do not assume that switch blocks YouTube. Open the app from the regular profile and test it. If it starts without a PIN, the setting is working as designed but does not meet a named app block.

The same warning applies to deleting YouTube. A child in a regular profile may be able to download the free app again.

If Kids profiles are not available

Target the Fire TV Stick through the home router or DNS service.

1. 1

   Find the Fire TV Stick in the router's device list. Rename it and reserve its address if your router supports that option.

2. 2

   Apply a YouTube service block to that device. If the router accepts only domains, block youtube.com, youtu.be, youtube-nocookie.com, and googlevideo.com.

3. 3

   Restart the Fire TV Stick. Test the YouTube app, Silk, voice search, and casting from a phone.

Do not make the DNS rule network wide unless you want YouTube blocked on every home device. Blocking googlevideo.com can also stop embedded YouTube playback in other apps.

If the child still needs some YouTube

A supervised Google account can use YouTube on eligible TV devices. Google now lets the linked parent block a named channel and set the daily Shorts feed limit to zero.

That account setting filters the signed in YouTube session. It does not stop a guest or adult Fire TV profile from opening the app.

Vidward does not run on Fire TV. It is a desktop browser extension plus a parent dashboard. It cannot filter the TV app, Silk, or your network. For a separate computer, read how to block YouTube in Chrome.