YouTube has announced an expansion of its parental controls, introducing a feature. In addition, it enables parents to link their account to their teen’s account for better insight into their activity on the platform. This new feature will notify parents about their teen’s channel interactions. Additionally, it includes uploads, subscriptions, and comments. However, it will not disclose the actual content. Parents will also receive email alerts for events like new uploads or livestreams.
Impact on YouTube Algorithm
According to a statement from the company, linking accounts will not affect YouTube’s algorithm regarding content recommendations for teens. Additionally, parents cannot change the reported age of their child through this linking process. YouTube relies on the age the teen provided during account creation.
Notification Features
Parents will receive alerts for new uploads on YouTube and YouTube Shorts, even for private or unlisted videos. Additionally, they will receive notifications about any changes in video privacy settings.
YouTube Building on Previous Controls
This feature builds upon parental controls introduced by YouTube in 2021. In addition, it allowed parents to oversee supervised accounts for children below the age of online consent (13 years in the U.S., varying in other countries). At that time, YouTube indicated plans to extend these features to older age groups.
Regulatory Context
The rise of supervised experiences on social media is partly a response to new regulations concerning minors’ use of these platforms. States like Utah and Arkansas have enacted laws mandating parental consent for children under 18 to join social media. However, these laws face legal challenges.
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Rollout and Resources for Parents
YouTube plans to start this new feature for teen parents this week. As a result, it will allow them to connect their accounts via the new Family Center hub within the app. Google’s Family Link service will also provide parents access to these new controls. The rollout will reach users worldwide in the coming weeks.
