Key Takeaways
- Almost every major service has parental controls now. The catch is that they live in totally different places, and some are far stronger than others.
- Your best protection is a dedicated kids profile paired with a PIN or passcode that locks switching over to adult profiles.
- Disney+, YouTube Kids, and Hulu give you a true kids profile. Netflix and Prime Video lean instead on maturity ratings plus profile locks.
- Turn off autoplay and set a purchase PIN everywhere you can — these are the two settings people forget most often.
- Device-level controls on Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV are a handy backstop for when an app's own controls just aren't enough.
You hand your four-year-old the tablet mid-show, look away for two minutes, and glance back to find autoplay has already queued up something you'd never have picked. Now multiply that by five streaming apps, each one hiding its settings in a different menu, and you've got the modern parenting puzzle. This guide solves it, one service at a time.
Streaming parental controls are the built-in settings that let you limit what your child can watch on services like Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube — through kids profiles, content ratings, PIN locks, autoplay switches, and purchase limits. Nearly every major service offers them. But they live in different places, and they vary widely in how much they actually protect. This guide walks you through the exact, current steps for every major streaming service, plus a quick comparison of which ones really keep kids safe.
Streaming has replaced cable for most families, and plenty of kids are navigating apps before they can even read. That's exactly why per-app controls matter. Recommendation algorithms, autoplay, and "recommended next" are built to keep a viewer watching — not to keep the content age-appropriate — which is part of the problem with many kids' video apps. Below you'll find the current steps for each major service, a comparison table, and a look at where device-level controls can back an app up when its own settings fall short.
Which Streaming Services Have Parental Controls?
Nearly every major streaming service offers parental controls — but they run the gamut, from a robust kids profile with a PIN lock all the way down to little more than a maturity-rating filter. The table below compares the major services on the five settings that matter most for young children: whether the service has a dedicated kids profile, a content-rating limit, a PIN that locks switching to adult profiles, a purchase PIN, and an autoplay switch.
| Service | Kids profile? | Content rating limit? | Profile PIN lock? | Purchase PIN? | Turn off autoplay? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Disney+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| YouTube / YouTube Kids | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Hulu | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Amazon Prime Video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Apple TV+ | Via Screen Time | Yes | Via Screen Time | Yes | Yes |
| Peacock | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Roku (device) | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
Disney+, YouTube Kids, and Hulu offer the strongest setups, and it's for the same reason each one: they pair a true kids profile with a PIN that stops a child from switching back to an adult profile. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video lean more on maturity ratings and profile locks than on a dedicated kids space. Roku and Apple TV work at the device level, which makes them a useful backstop rather than a per-app fix.
Netflix Parental Controls
You manage Netflix parental controls per profile, so each child can have a different maturity limit while a profile lock keeps your adult profile private. Maturity ratings, profile locks, and title blocks all get set from the account owner's login. Then you turn off autoplay inside each profile's playback settings.
How to set up Netflix parental controls
- Create a Kids profile from Manage Profiles, or set an existing profile to "Kids" so it only shows content for younger viewers.
- Set a maturity rating per profile — Little Kids, Older Kids, Teens, or All Maturities — under Account, then Profile and Parental Controls.
- Add a profile lock PIN so no one can open your adult profile without the four-digit code.
- Block specific titles by name, even ones that fall inside the allowed rating.
- Turn off "Autoplay next episode" and "Autoplay previews" in the profile's playback settings.
One thing to remember: Netflix applies these limits at the profile level, so you'll need to repeat the maturity rating and autoplay steps for each child's profile you create.
Disney+ Parental Controls
Disney+ parental controls are among the easiest and strongest to lock down, because a Kids Profile restricts the whole profile to age-appropriate content in a single step. You add a Profile PIN to your adult profiles and require that PIN to exit a Kids Profile, which closes the most common gap of all — a child tapping back into a grown-up account.
How to set up Disney+ parental controls
- Create a Kids Profile (Junior Mode), which limits the profile to titles rated for younger viewers.
- Set a content rating limit per profile from Edit Profiles.
- Add a Profile PIN to any adult profile so a child cannot open it.
- Turn on the setting that requires your PIN to exit a Kids Profile.
Because Disney+ pairs a locked Kids Profile with a required exit PIN, it gives younger children a walled space that's genuinely hard to wander out of by accident.
YouTube & YouTube Kids Parental Controls
YouTube parental controls come in two forms, and for young children the difference really matters. The separate YouTube Kids app gives you age levels, a parent passcode, and an approved-content-only mode. The main YouTube app, on the other hand, relies on a Google Family Link supervised account and Restricted Mode. For young kids, YouTube Kids is the safer default.
YouTube Kids app
- Choose a content level by age — Preschool, Younger, or Older — or switch to "Approved content only" so your child sees only videos you have approved.
- Set a parent passcode so your child cannot change settings or leave the app's kid space.
- Turn on the built-in timer to cap a single session.
Even inside YouTube Kids, recommendations can still surface a few surprises. That's why the app's approved-content mode is worth using for younger children — it's also good for filtering out low-quality unboxing and influencer videos.
YouTube main app via Family Link
- Set up a Google Family Link supervised account to apply content settings for a child under 13.
- Turn on Restricted Mode to filter out much of the mature content.
- Know the limits: the main YouTube app is weaker for young kids because recommendations still push toward content you did not choose.
For most young children, YouTube Kids with a parent passcode is the safer place to start. You can graduate to a supervised main-app account later, as your child gets older.
Hulu, Prime Video & Other Services
Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and the other major services all offer parental controls, though each one labels them a little differently. Hulu and Prime Video both support kids profiles and content-rating limits, and Prime Video throws in a purchase PIN that Netflix and Disney+ don't need.
Hulu
- Create a Kids profile so the profile only shows content rated for younger viewers.
- Set a content rating limit on the profile.
- Add a profile PIN so a child cannot switch out of the Kids profile into an adult one.
Amazon Prime Video
- Set viewing restrictions by maturity rating so titles above your chosen rating require a PIN.
- Turn on the purchase and rental PIN to stop accidental buys.
- Use the Amazon Kids layer to give younger children a filtered profile of age-appropriate titles.
Max, Apple TV+ & Peacock
- Max: create a Kids profile, set a maturity rating, and add a profile PIN.
- Apple TV+: use Screen Time content restrictions on the device to limit ratings, and keep your Apple ID purchase password on.
- Peacock: create a Kids profile with a content-rating limit and a parental-control PIN.
Across Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Apple TV+, and Peacock, the same two settings end up doing the heavy lifting: a kids profile with a rating limit, and a PIN on either the profile or the purchase step. Master those and you're most of the way there.
Device-Level Controls as a Backstop
Device-level controls lock down the hardware itself, which is the fix for when an app's own controls fall short — or when your child can install new apps on their own. On a tablet you hand over often, it's worth taking the time to set up a kid-proof iPhone or iPad first. Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV each let you set a PIN that gates purchases and, in some cases, opening or adding channels and apps.
- Roku: set a PIN for purchases and for adding channels from the Roku account's PIN preferences.
- Apple TV: use Screen Time and content restrictions to limit ratings and require a passcode for changes.
- Amazon Fire TV: turn on a PIN to gate purchases and restrict video playback above a chosen rating.
Device controls sit underneath every app on that device, so they catch what an individual service might miss. The same layered thinking applies to games, too — see our guide to Minecraft parental controls for a console-and-app example.
Why Streaming Controls Aren't Enough on Their Own
Streaming parental controls are a layer, not a guarantee. Kids share logins, maturity ratings are inconsistent from one service to the next, and recommendation feeds still push content you didn't choose. The controls above meaningfully reduce risk — but they don't replace the value of watching together and talking about what shows up.
The most durable setup combines a dedicated kids profile on every service, autoplay switched off, a purchase PIN wherever one exists, and a habit of co-viewing. It also helps to know the types of kids' videos to avoid so you can spot the low-quality content that slips past the filters.
Research groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Common Sense Media stress that the nature of what a child watches — and whether an adult is involved — matters more than raw minutes on a screen. If you're weighing limits, our guide to how much screen time is healthy puts the numbers in context. The controls handle the what; you handle the how much, and the together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which streaming apps support parental controls?
Nearly all of them do — including Netflix, Disney+, YouTube and YouTube Kids, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Apple TV+, and Peacock. The strongest setups pair a kids profile with a PIN that locks switching to adult profiles, and Disney+, YouTube Kids, and Hulu lead the pack here. Check the comparison table above to see how each service stacks up on kids profiles, rating limits, and PIN locks.
Does YouTube have parental controls?
Yes. YouTube offers parental controls through two paths. There's the separate YouTube Kids app, which lets you set age-based content levels, a parent passcode, an approved-content-only mode, and a session timer; and there's the main YouTube app, which uses a Google Family Link supervised account and Restricted Mode. For young children, YouTube Kids is the safer default, because the main app's recommendations are harder to fully control.
Can you put parental controls on YouTube?
Yes, you can. For young kids, install the YouTube Kids app, choose a content level by age or turn on "Approved content only," and set a parent passcode so your child cannot change the settings. For older children on the main YouTube app, create a Family Link supervised account and turn on Restricted Mode to filter mature content.
How do parental controls work on streaming platforms?
Streaming parental controls work by limiting a profile or device to age-appropriate content, and by gating changes behind a PIN. Most services combine a kids profile, a maturity or content-rating limit, a profile-lock PIN, an autoplay switch, and — where purchases exist — a purchase PIN. You set these once per profile, then repeat them for each child's profile on each service you use.
Does Disney Plus have parental controls?
Yes, and they're among the easiest to lock down. Disney+ lets you create a Kids Profile (Junior Mode) that restricts the profile to age-appropriate titles, set a content rating limit per profile, add a Profile PIN to adult profiles, and require that PIN to exit a Kids Profile. That combination gives younger children a walled space that's hard to leave by accident.
How to turn off parental controls on Disney Plus?
To turn off Disney+ parental controls, open Edit Profiles from your account, select the profile, and remove or raise its content rating limit; turn off Junior Mode to convert a Kids Profile back to a standard one. To remove a Profile PIN, edit the profile and clear the PIN field. You'll need to enter your current PIN or account password to confirm these changes.