How to block YouTube on a Chromebook

Block the YouTube website with Family Link

These steps follow Google’s Chromebook help page. You do them on your own phone, in the Family Link app, or at g.co/YourFamily.

1. Open Family Link and pick your child

   Then tap Controls, then Google Chrome and Web.

2. Open Manage sites, then Blocked sites

   Tap Add a website.

3. Add the domain youtube

   Not www.youtube.com. A domain covers every version of the address; a website entry covers only the exact one you type.

When your child hits a blocked site, Chrome lets them ask for access, in person on the Chromebook with your password, or by a message that lands in your Family Link app. That’s useful when a teacher assigns a video: approve that one request instead of unblocking everything.

If you’d rather choose what’s allowed than what’s blocked, pick Only allow approved sites under Google Chrome and Web. It’s stricter, and it suits younger kids better.

Block the YouTube app too

Many Chromebooks run Android apps, and the YouTube app doesn’t care what you blocked in Chrome. Family Link lets you choose which apps your child can use: find YouTube in your child’s app settings and set it to Blocked. Check YouTube Music while you’re there, since it plays videos too.

Close the gaps

• Guest mode. Google’s advice is to disable guest mode and control who can sign in. If guest mode is on, your child may be able to use the Chromebook without Family Link settings.
• Other accounts. Once your child is signed in, a parent’s password is needed to add new users. Remove any old accounts you don’t need.
• Private browsing is already off for supervised accounts, so there’s nothing to do here.
• Extensions. Family Link can let or stop your child installing extensions. Leave it off unless you’re adding one yourself.

Keep YouTube, remove the worst of it

Blocking all of YouTube on a laptop used for school often lasts until the first assignment with a video in it. The alternative is to keep YouTube and take out what keeps a kid scrolling. With your permission for extensions switched on in Family Link, install FeedCut on the Chromebook and set:

1. Hide Shorts

   Shelves, the Shorts tab and Shorts in search disappear.

2. Hide the Home feed

   YouTube opens to a search box and subscriptions instead of a wall of recommendations.

3. Block channels and words

   Turn on the “For kids” list and add your own.

4. Set a PIN

   Without it, nobody can change the settings or switch FeedCut off.

Pair it with YouTube’s own filtering: a supervised YouTube account for a child under 13, or Restricted Mode for an older child, which Family Link can switch on so they can’t switch it off. Our Restricted Mode guide explains what it filters.

On your own Chromebook

ChromeOS runs Chrome, so Chrome Web Store extensions work as they do on any computer. A site blocker takes YouTube away entirely. FeedCut takes away the parts you choose: Shorts, recommendations, specific channels and words. Neither covers the Android YouTube app, so uninstall that if it’s your weak spot.

School Chromebooks

School-issued Chromebooks and school accounts are managed by the school’s Google Workspace for Education administrators. Google notes that they decide which services students can use, and that this may include services your child couldn’t use on their Family Link account. If YouTube is blocked or open on a school device, that’s the school’s call, and the school is who to ask.

Questions

Updated November 5, 2026