What is YouTube Restricted Mode, and How to Enable it?

YouTube is a popular application for videos where you can find various videos for all age groups, but that doesn’t mean that every video on YouTube is safe for you or your child. To make the platform safer for children and teenagers, YouTube restricts certain mature and potentially dangerous content so that only adults can view it.

What is YouTube Restricted Mode?

Google has certain guidelines for creating YouTube channels and publishing videos. When a YouTube channel is created, the creator has to ensure that the content they’re publishing meets specific guidelines, meaning that they’re safe for YouTube’s wider audience to view. This means videos containing sexual, hateful, or dangerous content, including foul language or adult themes, aren’t usually permitted.

Restricted videos typically won’t appear using the search tool and could be deleted at a later date. YouTube’s Restricted Mode feature allows parents and network administrators to block YouTube videos and channels that contain potentially unsafe topics. If your account has Restricted Mode switched on, you won’t be able to view restricted videos like these.

This excellent parental control feature helps limit the exposure of dangerous or unsafe content to younger audiences. It is also valuable for work or public settings, such as on a workplace PC, where viewing certain content may not be appropriate.

How to Enable or Disable YouTube Restricted Mode on Windows 11 or 10?

YouTubes’s Restricted Mode is a safety feature, and you can enable or disable it if you’re signed in with your Google account. You can disable this feature if you are over 18 years old, as YouTube automatically restricts potentially unsafe content for underage users.

To enable or disable YouTube Restricted Mode on Windows 11 or 10 PC, do these steps:-

Step 1. Open YouTube in any browser and sign in to your account.

Step 2. Click your profile icon in the top right and select Restricted Mode in the drop-down menu.

Step 3. In the following screen, turn On or Off toggle switch ACTIVATE RESTRICTED MODE to enable or disable restricted mode in YouTube.

Quick Note: This will temporarily activate or deactivate the restricted mode and is only valid in your open browser. That means that if you open YouTube on another browser, you will be able to view restricted content.

Step 4. If you want to enable Restricted Mode permanently in your current browser, also click on the Lock Restricted Mode on this browser option.

Step 5. Finally, authenticate your login by entering your account password.

Once you complete the above steps, restricted contents should not appear on your browser on YouTube.

You need to repeat the above steps if you want to disable the restricted mode on YouTube.

How to Enforce YouTube Restricted Mode in Chrome using Registry Editor on Windows 11 or 10?

If you use the Chrome browser on Windows 11 or 10 to watch videos on YouTube, you can tweak the Registry to enforce a restricted mode.

To enforce YouTube Restricted Mode in Chrome using Registry Editor, do these steps:-

Step 1. Open Registry Editor.

Step 2. Then, navigate or browse to the following key in the left sidebar of Registry Editor:-

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies

Step 3. Next, right-click on the Policies folder and select New > Key.

Step 4. Name the newly created key as Google.

Step 5. Now, right-click on the Google folder and select New > Key.

Step 6. Name this new key Chrome.

Step 7. After that, right-click on the Chrome key and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 8. Name the newly created REG_DWORD as ForceYouTubeRestrict.

Step 9. Double-click on ForceYouTubeRestrict REG_DWORD and set the “Value data” as 1 or 2.

Step 9. Click OK.

Step 10. At last, reboot your computer.

To disable the YouTube restricted mode, navigate to the following key in Registry Editor:-

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome

On the right side of the Chrome folder, right-click on ForceYouTubeRestrict REG_DWORD and select the Delete option. Click the Yes button when you’re prompted.

That’s it. Using the steps mentioned above, you can turn on or off restricted mode on YouTube in Windows 11 or 10 Chrome.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while YouTube is a popular platform for all age groups, it doesn’t guarantee the safety of every video. To ensure that younger audiences are not exposed to potentially unsafe content, YouTube offers a Restricted Mode feature that blocks such videos and channels. This feature can be easily enabled or disabled on Windows 11 or 10 using your Google account. Additionally, you can enforce Restricted Mode in Chrome using the Registry Editor. These steps can help you make YouTube safer for yourself and your children.

Also Read:

How to Enable SafeSearch in Google Search on Windows 11 or 10?

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