YouTube's new supervision feature gives parents insight into teens' digital lives
Parents can now link their accounts and see their children's channel activities.
YouTube is stepping up its game in parental oversight, offering a new level of transparency for parents curious about their teens' online habits.
As concerns about screen time and online safety continue to dominate family discussions, the platform is now globally rolling out a supervision feature that lets parents connect their accounts to their teenager’s YouTube profile.
Through YouTube’s Family Center, parents can now link their accounts and see their children's channel activities including uploads, subscriptions, comments, and even privacy settings changes. This gives parents a clearer picture of how their teens engage with the platform.
While it won’t show parents what their kids are watching, it offers a valuable bird’s-eye view of their overall activity.
Parents will also receive email notifications about notable events, like when their kids make new video uploads, or begin a live stream. However, both parents and teens can switch off supervision at any time, offering a balance between oversight and independence.
YouTube has announced that its new supervision feature for teens will begin rolling out to parents this week. This update allows parents to link their accounts to their teen’s YouTube profile through the newly introduced Family Center hub in the app.
This update builds on YouTube’s parental controls introduced back in 2021, which initially targeted preteen users. Now, as social media giants grapple with growing scrutiny and evolving regulations regarding minors, YouTube is extending these features to older teens.
YouTube joins other platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, which have also rolled out similar parental supervision tools.
YouTube’s approach aims to foster dialogue between parents and teens, rather than just policing content. By giving parents insight into their child’s online activity, without spying on specific videos, the platform aims to encourage a more open conversation about digital habits.
