How to block YouTube on iPad

Pick the result you need

An iPad can reach YouTube through the app and through Safari. Blocking only one leaves the other open.

Screen Time gives you two app choices. A one minute App Limit keeps the app installed, while deleting the app and blocking installs removes that path. The website needs its own entry under Never Allow.

On a family iPad, set the rule for the child through Family Sharing when you can. If you set Screen Time on the iPad itself, lock the settings with a passcode before you hand it back.

Limit the YouTube app to one minute

1. 1

   Open Settings, then Screen Time. Select your child under Family if that option appears.

2. 2

   Turn on App & Website Activity. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.

3. 3

   Expand Entertainment, select YouTube, and tap Next. Set one minute for every day.

4. 4

   Turn on Block at End of Limit, save the limit, then use Lock Screen Time Settings to set a passcode the child does not know.

Do not skip the last step. Block at End of Limit makes the timer stop the app. The passcode stops the child from changing the timer or granting more time.

Apple's Screen Time guide covers app limits and the parent passcode. An App Limit still gives the app one minute per day. It is not a full block.

Remove YouTube from the iPad

Delete the YouTube app if the goal is no app access. Then stop a new download:

1. 1

   Open Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions, and turn the switch on.

2. 2

   Open iTunes & App Store Purchases. Set Installing Apps to Don't Allow.

3. 3

   Open the App Store from the child's iPad and confirm that YouTube cannot be installed again.

This blocks every new app install. Allowed Apps & Features does not offer a YouTube switch because it covers built in Apple apps and features. Apple lists these controls in its iPad restriction guide.

Block the website too

In Content & Privacy Restrictions, open App Store, Media, Web & Games, then Web Content. Choose Limit Adult Websites. Under Never Allow, add these three addresses:

• https://youtube.com
• https://www.youtube.com
• https://m.youtube.com

Test them in Safari, then open a direct video link. If the iPad has another browser, test that browser as well. A site rule that only works in Safari does not close every web path.

If the iPad has cellular service, a router block works only while it uses your home wifi. The Screen Time rules stay with the iPad away from home.

Keep some YouTube with Google's controls

A supervised child account is a different choice from a full block. Google now lets a parent block named channels for a supervised child. Family Center can also set the daily Shorts feed limit to zero.

Those settings follow the supervised YouTube account. Test that the child is signed in to the right account before relying on them.

Vidward does not run on an iPad. It is a desktop browser extension plus a parent dashboard, so it cannot filter the YouTube app or Safari on this device.

It can cover the separate Chrome session your child uses on a computer. See how to block YouTube in Chrome. If you want to keep a mobile app open while blocking only a computer site, read the website only guide.