How to set parental controls for Amazon Prime
Amazon’s streaming service is used on a huge variety of devices, and the way you switch to its parental controls varies slightly from operating system to operating system. However, this broad guide should get you to the right place.
- First find the Settings menu. This might be under My Stuff.
- Select Parental Controls. You may also need to select Viewing Restrictions.
- Choose the restrictions you require. You might need to enter your PIN too.
How to set parental controls for Hulu
This service’s parental controls are a little simpler than Netflix and Disney+. Hulu offers dedicated Kids profiles for children, and password protection for adult accounts, so the kids don’t just switch profiles.
Here’s how you create a Kids account.
- On Hulu.com, hover over the name in the top right corner of the page, and click Manage Profiles.
- Click (+) Add Profile.
- Fill out the required fields, and make sure you switch the Kids option on.
Here’s how you set up the adult PIN access.
- At Hulu.com go to your Profile icon, then select Manage Profiles.
- Choose Turn on PIN Protection to enable the PIN; Turn off PIN Protection to disable; and choose Manage PIN to change PIN.
- Enter your password.
- If you’d like to change your PIN, enter your new PIN and select Save Changes
How to set parental controls for YouTube
The original online, open-access streaming service is a little bit harder to lock down for kids, but there are still some parental controls that you can set for kids, via your Youtube or Google account.
- Once you’re signed into your Google account and on the Youtube homepage, tap on your accounts round icon, in the top right corner.
- A drop down menu appears. At the very bottom of this is Restricted Mode. Switch this on.
- Remember, you’ll have to do this for every account (and device) your kids use, and there isn’t a good way to prevent the kids from switching it back off.
You can also get a dedicated Youtube Kids app for child-friendly material. It works on Android, iOS and lots of smart TVs. To access parental settings within this, do the following.
- Select the Lock in the corner of your screen.
- Complete the multiplication problem or enter your custom passcode.
- Select 'Settings'.
How to set parental controls for Twitch
Part streaming service, part social media platform, Twitch was made for video gamers, enabling users to share their game play, but it has broadened out to include other activities, such as music and teaching. There are no dedicated parental controls, the platform (which is owned by Amazon) is quite strict when it comes to policing hate speech, overly violent games and sexualised content. If you want to be extra safe, you can filter Twitch’s Chat settings, restricting the kind of interactions kids can have with other users, and the kind of subjects that can be covered.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Chat Settings.
- Enable Filtering in Chat.
How to set parental controls for Spotify
Song lyrics and podcasts probably aren’t the kind of thing most parents think of when they’re considering parental controls on streaming services. Nevertheless, kids using bad language is something most of us disapprove of, and the saltier side of pop music is filled with filthy talk. Don’t want your children to pick up on it? If you’ve a Spotify Premium Family plan, you can block anything with an explicit tag from other members of the plan. Here’s how you do it.
- Log in to your Premium Family Page (this works best online, rather than in the app).
- Select the family member you’d like to prevent from receiving explicit content.
- Switch ‘Remove explicit content’ on.