YouTube is one of the most popular websites on the internet, with over 2 billion monthly active users. While it offers a massive collection of videos for entertainment, information, and more, you may find yourself spending too much time on the platform or wanting to limit access for yourself or your family.
Fortunately, there are a few different methods you can use to permanently block YouTube. The effectiveness of each approach depends on your specific circumstances.
Using Parental Control Software
One of the easiest ways to block YouTube is by using parental control software or apps. These give you the ability to restrict access to certain websites and content across all devices connected to your home network.
Some popular parental control options include:
- Qustodio – Works across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle, and Nook devices. Can set time limits and block specific websites or categories.
- Net Nanny – Blocks content across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Chromebooks. Features time allowances and app blocking.
- Norton Family Premier – Monitors and controls screen time across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices on your home network.
- McAfee Safe Family – Blocks websites and monitors childrens’ activity across iOS and Android devices.
- Disney Circle – Hardware device that connects to your router to monitor traffic and filter content.
With most parental control services, you can enter specific URLs like “www.youtube.com” to permanently block access to YouTube. This will prevent the site from loading on any device that connects through your home network.
The advantage of using parental control software is that it makes site blocking very simple across all devices in your household. The limitation is that it only works for devices connected to your home network. Once a device connects to a different Wi-Fi or cellular network, the blocking is no longer applied.
Editing the Hosts File
Another approach to blocking YouTube more permanently is by editing the Hosts file on your computer or device. This is a system file that maps hostnames to IP addresses for websites.
To block YouTube access by editing the Hosts file, follow these general steps:
- Open the Hosts file with administrative privileges. On Windows, it’s located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts. On Mac/Linux, it’s located at /etc/hosts.
- Add a new line with the IP address 0.0.0.0 followed by the hostname of the site you want to block. For YouTube, this would be 0.0.0.0 www.youtube.com
- Save the changes to the Hosts file.
Now when your computer looks up the YouTube URL, it will map to the 0.0.0.0 IP address instead of the actual IP address. This will prevent the site from loading.
The advantage of editing the Hosts file is it will permanently block that website from any browser on that device. The limitation is that you have to edit the file individually on every device you want to block YouTube on.
Using Browser Extensions
There are various browser extensions available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and other browsers that give you the ability to block individual websites like YouTube.
Some popular blocking extensions include:
- BlockSite – Blocks websites across browsers on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS. Can set time limits.
- StayFocusd – Chrome extension to block sites and limit time on allowed sites.
- LeechBlock – Firefox add-on that blocks sites based on time and day.
The advantage of using blocking browser extensions is that it provides an easy way to block YouTube in particular browsers you install them on. The limitation is that it only blocks that site in that particular browser, not systemwide.
Using Router Settings
Many routers allow you to set up access controls and website blocking at the network level. This approach blocks access to specific sites for all devices connected to your home network.
To block YouTube on your router:
- Access your router admin interface. Usually this is by navigating to a page like http://192.168.0.1 in your browser.
- Look for any Parental Controls, Access Control, or Website Filtering options in the admin interface.
- Configure settings to block the website domain youtube.com and save changes.
Now devices that connect through your router will not be able to access YouTube. The advantage of configuring blocking on your router is that it applies network wide to all devices. The limitation is that devices could still access YouTube on other networks.
Using YouTube Restricted Mode
Enabling Restricted Mode on YouTube provides an option for limiting access to mature content. It uses automated filters to try and block inappropriate videos, comments, and searches.
To enable YouTube Restricted Mode:
- On the YouTube site, click your account/profile image in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings > Restricted Mode > Strict.
This will turn on the strictest filtering option to block mature content. Note that it’s not 100% comprehensive, so some inappropriate content may still get through.
The advantages of Restricted Mode are that it’s integrated into YouTube itself and easy to enable. The limitations are that it can be circumvented by disabling it and doesn’t block YouTube completely.
Using YouTube Screen Time Limits
YouTube allows you to set daily screen time limits on YouTube to control usage. This is available through Google’s Family Link parental controls.
To set up screen time limits:
- Visit familylink.google.com and create a parent account.
- Download Family Link to your child’s device and connect their account.
- On the parent dashboard, go to Settings > Screen time > Daily limit and set the time limit for YouTube.
This will limit how much time can be spent in the YouTube app daily. Once the limit is reached, the app will be blocked or paused for the rest of the day.
The advantage of this method is it allows limited YouTube access while blocking it after a defined time. The limitation is that it relies on the child not circumventing the Family Link controls.
Removing YouTube Apps from Devices
On mobile devices and smart TVs, you can take the approach of simply removing any installed YouTube apps to prevent access.
On iOS devices, hold down on the YouTube app icon until the options appear, then tap Remove App. On Android, go to Settings > Apps & Notifications > YouTube > Uninstall.
For smart TVs, consult the instruction manual to remove any YouTube apps or channels. You may be able to disable the YouTube button on the remote as well.
The advantage here is removing the app makes YouTube much harder to access on those devices. The limitation is that it can still be accessed through the internet browser.
Blocking YouTube with Connected Device Management
For parents trying to control children’s device access, connected device management services allow blocking YouTube and limiting screen time across devices.
Some of the top services include:
- Google Family Link – Free for Android devices. Can block apps and set time limits.
- Apple Family Sharing – Screen time limits across iPhones/iPads. Can block YouTube access.
- Disney Circle – Hardware device to control all connected devices by profile and content type.
- Bark – Paid monitoring and blocking based on text messages, email, YouTube activity.
Using connected device management apps allows blocking YouTube specifically on children’s devices without affecting the rest of the family’s access.
Using YouTube Premium Family Settings
For parents who want to limit children’s access while still using YouTube Premium, there are some family settings available.
Specifically, you can:
- Turn off search – Stops ability to search for videos.
- Turn off comments – Disables comments on videos.
- Restrict Mode – Limit videos as described above.
While this doesn’t block YouTube entirely, it prevents kids from searching and engaging with inappropriate content.
The advantages are the flexibility to customize access. The limitation is children could still find innappropriate content through video recommendations or links.
Using Third Party Apps
Some third party apps like Video Blocker allow you block YouTube channels or videos based on keywords and channels. This works by modifying your Hosts file when you add block requests.
The advantage of this approach is you can precisely block specific content while still allowing access to other videos. The limitation is that it requires installing an additional app specifically for this purpose.
Deleting Your YouTube Account
If you want to take the most extreme approach, deleting your YouTube account entirely will prevent you from accessing any videos. You can delete your channel and account here:
https://www.youtube.com/account_delete
However, even after deleting your account you can still view videos while signed out of YouTube. So this is really more of a symbolic gesture of leaving the platform than an actual block.
Conclusion
Blocking YouTube permanently takes a bit more effort than a simple website blocker. The most effective options involve using router-level blocking, hosts file editing, or a dedicated blocking program to prevent access network-wide. But for selective blocking on certain devices only, parental control apps and mobile device restrictions can also work.
Ultimately you need to decide if you want to block YouTube fully and permanently across all devices, or just limit access in certain contexts. This will determine the best technical approach to meet your specific needs.