How to Block YouTube on Your Child's iPhone (App + Safari)

To block YouTube on your child's iPhone, you need to close two doors: the YouTube app and youtube.com in Safari. Apple's free Screen Time handles both. Put a one-minute App Limit on YouTube, add youtube.com to the blocked websites list, turn off app installs, and lock it all with a Screen Time passcode. Here's how to do each step, what kids usually try next, and a stricter option if the free route isn't holding.

Why YouTube needs two blocks, not one

Most apps live only on the home screen. YouTube is different: the full site works in Safari, and many children discover that the moment the app stops opening. If you only limit the app, you've moved the viewing to the browser rather than stopped it.

So treat this as two jobs:

• The app, which you control with App Limits (or by blocking it outright with a parental-control app).
• The website, which you control with Screen Time's web filter.

Also decide what you actually want. Some parents want YouTube gone. Others want it at weekends only, or for an hour after school. The steps below cover both.

Method 1: Block YouTube with Screen Time (free)

First, decide where you manage Screen Time. With Family Sharing (Settings → [your name] → Family), you control your child's settings from your own iPhone under Settings → Screen Time → your child's name. Without it, set everything up on the child's phone and turn on a Screen Time passcode ("Use Screen Time Passcode" or "Lock Screen Time Settings") that's different from their unlock code. Our Family Sharing guide walks through the first option.

Step 1: Limit the YouTube app

1. Open Settings → Screen Time.
2. Tap App Limits, then Add Limit.
3. Find YouTube. It's usually under Entertainment, or you can search for it.
4. Tap Next and set the limit to 1 minute.
5. Turn on Block at End of Limit and tap Add.

To allow YouTube at weekends only, tap Customize Days on the same screen and give Saturday and Sunday a longer limit. For a time-limited approach across all apps, see how to set screen time limits on iPhone.

Step 2: Block youtube.com in Safari

1. In Screen Time, open Content & Privacy Restrictions and switch it on.
2. Tap App Store, Media, Web & Games, then Web Content.
3. Choose Limit Adult Websites.
4. Under the never-allowed section, tap Add Website and type youtube.com.

Choosing Limit Adult Websites also filters adult content in Safari, which is useful on its own. More on that in our adult website blocking guide.

Step 3: Stop reinstalls and replacement apps

A child who loses YouTube may delete and reinstall it, or download another video app. To prevent that:

1. In Content & Privacy Restrictions, tap App Store Purchases.
2. Set Installing Apps to Don't Allow.
3. Set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow.

Step 4: Use Downtime for evenings

If daytime YouTube is fine but late-night viewing isn't, schedule Downtime instead of a one-minute limit. During Downtime, only apps in Always Allowed work. The bedtime and Downtime guide has the full setup.

A note on YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids is a separate app designed for younger children. It has its own parental settings, such as controlling search and choosing content levels, and some families use it in place of the main app rather than blocking video altogether.

It's a reasonable option to consider, but it isn't a substitute for Screen Time. You still need limits on how long it's used, and you should go through its settings yourself rather than relying on the defaults. If you choose YouTube Kids, make sure the main YouTube app and youtube.com are still blocked, or your child can simply switch over.

Where the free method can slip

Screen Time works, but YouTube is a common place for gaps to appear:

• "One more minute" requests. When the limit hits, your child can ask for more time. Approve it once without thinking and YouTube is back for the day.
• The passcode gets seen. One glance over your shoulder and every setting is unlocked.
• Settings in different places. App Limits, Web Content and App Store Purchases are on separate screens, and it's easy to finish one and forget another.
• Limits that stop applying. Some parents find settings seem to reset after an update. If that happens, see Screen Time not working: common fixes.

For the other tricks children try, read how kids bypass Screen Time.

Method 2: Block YouTube with Skydo

Skydo is an iPhone parental-control app built on Apple's Screen Time technology (Family Controls). When YouTube is blocked with Skydo, iOS itself won't open the app. There's no VPN or profile involved that a child could remove.

What Skydo does for YouTube

• Blocks the YouTube app in one tap, or a whole category of apps at once.
• Blocks youtube.com and other specific sites in Safari, plus adult content in Safari and search.
• Stops installing and deleting apps, so YouTube can't come back through a reinstall.
• Homework Mode unlocks apps for a set time after homework, if you'd rather allow YouTube as a reward than remove it.
• Bedtime and a daily time limit for the evening and overall use.
• Parent PIN plus Face ID to change anything.
• A blocked-attempts count and weekly report, so you can see how often YouTube is still being tried.

Setting it up

1. Install Skydo on your child's iPhone and pick the apps to block. The blocked-app list is chosen on the child's phone.
2. Install Skydo on your own iPhone and pair the two with an 8-character code. No accounts are needed.
3. From your phone you can change bedtime, limits and school hours, or pause all apps for 30 minutes. Changes arrive on your child's phone in seconds.

You can read more about the parent-side controls in how to control your child's iPhone from your phone.

What to know before you choose it

Skydo must be installed and set up on your child's iPhone, which needs iOS 26.5 or later. The download is free, but turning protection on requires a Skydo Premium subscription (monthly or yearly). One subscription bought on your phone also unlocks your child's phone.

Skydo blocks the YouTube app and website, but it doesn't filter individual videos inside YouTube. If you want YouTube available with content filtering, YouTube's own settings or YouTube Kids are the tools for that.

Which approach suits your family?

• Screen Time is a good fit if your child is younger, mostly sticks to the rules, and you're happy to check the settings from time to time.
• Skydo suits families where Screen Time has already been worked around, where you want YouTube blocked rather than time-limited, or where you'd like to manage limits from your own phone.

Whichever you pick, tell your child what the rule is and why. YouTube is often where kids relax, learn and keep up with friends, so a clear plan for when it might come back tends to go down better than a silent block.