YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), introducing new parental controls and safety features designed to provide children with a more age-appropriate experience on the platform.
The new accounts are being rolled out in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq and Türkiye.
According to YouTube, the supervised accounts are intended for parents who believe their children are ready to use the main YouTube app but still want to oversee their online experience. The accounts include age-appropriate content settings, parental controls and built-in safety features.
Parents can choose from three content settings—Explore, Explore more, and Most of YouTube—depending on the maturity level of their child. The settings provide access to educational content, tutorials, arts and crafts, gaming, live streams and, in the highest setting, almost all YouTube videos except content rated 18+ or deemed inappropriate for supervised accounts.
Among the new features is what YouTube describes as the industry’s first Shorts feed timer, allowing parents to set daily limits on scrolling through Shorts. Parents can also disable Shorts scrolling completely by setting the timer to zero.
The accounts also include default safeguards for users under 18, such as “Take a Break” and “Bedtime” reminders. Features including content creation, commenting, personalised advertising and autoplay are either disabled or restricted by default.
The supervised kid accounts complement YouTube’s existing supervised teen accounts, which are already available in the region and offer tools for parents to monitor certain aspects of their teenagers’ activity.
Speaking about the launch, Javid Aslanov, Head of YouTube Middle East & North Africa, said: “YouTube has been a huge part of families’ lives across this region for over 20 years – whether to help with homework or as a shared viewing experience on the family TV – which is why we’re continuously investing in tools that serve families and put their wellness first. Research by Kantar shows that 95% of viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE agree that YouTube has top content in education and learning, while 92% of Gen Z viewers say it has helped them learn new skills.”
Garth Graham, Head of Health at YouTube, said: “It’s essential that we protect young people in – not from – the digital world. Thoughtful safeguards like kid and teen accounts help us continue to give young people a place to learn and explore, while ensuring the right tools and boundaries are in place to keep them safe and give families a choice.”
YouTube said the supervised kid accounts will be rolled out gradually across the MENA region and Türkiye starting July 2. Parents can set up the accounts through the Family Center within the YouTube app or website, or through the Google Family Link app.
