How to block YouTube on Xbox

Microsoft Family Safety can block the Xbox app

Xbox has a named app block through Microsoft Family Safety. The rule attaches to one family member, so the child must use their own Microsoft account on the console.

Block both the YouTube app and the YouTube website in Edge. A child who can switch to an unlocked adult Xbox profile can bypass both rules.

Block the YouTube app

Add the child's Microsoft account to your family group and sign that account in on the Xbox first. Open YouTube once if it does not yet appear in the app list.

1. 1

   Open the Microsoft Family Safety app or sign in at family.microsoft.com.

2. 2

   Select the child, then choose the Xbox platform. Open Apps and games.

3. 3
   Find YouTube, open its menu, and select Block app.
4. 4

   Sign in to the Xbox as the child and open YouTube. Confirm that Family Safety blocks it.

Microsoft documents the Xbox choice and named app action in its Family Safety block guide. Only a family organizer can change the rule.

If YouTube appears more than once, block each Xbox listing. Microsoft notes that duplicate entries can appear while device data is still being processed.

Close the Edge website path

In Family Safety, keep the child selected and open the Xbox platform. Under Apps and games, select YouTube and turn on Block related websites if youtube.com appears.

Also open the child's Edge web filters and add youtube.com to Blocked sites. Microsoft web filters apply in Edge while the child is signed in to their Microsoft account.

Test these three paths on the Xbox:

1. The YouTube app from My games & apps.
2. youtube.com typed into Edge.
3. A direct YouTube link opened from another app.

Microsoft's app and game limit guide describes the related website control.

Lock the adult profile

Open Xbox Settings, then Account, then Sign-in, security & PIN for the adult account. Require a PIN for sign in and settings changes. Keep that PIN private.

Then sign out, restart the console, and test from the child's account. The app block follows the family member, not every Xbox profile.

If a full block is too broad

YouTube supports supervised child accounts on Xbox. A linked parent can now block named channels. Family Center can also set the daily Shorts feed limit to zero.

Those settings filter the child's signed in YouTube account. They do not stop another Xbox account from opening the app.

Vidward cannot block the Xbox app or Edge on the console. It is a desktop browser extension plus a parent dashboard. For a separate computer, read how to block YouTube in Chrome.