YouTube launches supervised kid accounts across MENA with new parental controls

• Parents can choose between three age-appropriate content settings.
• Parents can set daily time limits for YouTube Shorts.
• The feature joins YouTube's existing supervised teen accounts and YouTube Kids.

YouTube has launched supervised kid accounts across the Middle East and North Africa to give parents new tools to manage how children use the platform.

The accounts can be set up through YouTube's Family Centre and include three content settings that parents can choose from based on age-appropriate viewing. 

Parents can also use an industry-first Shorts feed timer to set daily limits for scrolling short-form videos or disable the feature entirely. 

The supervised accounts include built-in protections enabled by default for users under 18, including Take a Break and Bedtime reminders, disabled autoplay, no personalised ad targeting and restrictions preventing children from creating content or posting comments.

Online safety 

The launch expands YouTube's existing family-focused offerings, joining supervised teen accounts and the standalone YouTube Kids app, which offers stricter content filtering and parental controls.

“Supervised kid accounts are the latest in our commitment to our youngest users," said YouTube head of MENA Javid Aslanov in a post. “We recognise the important part we play in young people’s lives, and their safety, privacy and wellbeing are at the forefront of everything we do. 

“For years, guided by independent child development specialists, we’ve built age-appropriate experiences to protect kids in the digital world, not from it."

Last month, the United Arab Emirates approved regulations banning children under 15 from creating or using personal social media accounts, even with parental consent. 

The rules make the UAE the first Arab country to introduce a minimum social media age limit of 15, with platforms responsible for enforcing the restrictions and age verification requirements.