FocusEdgeIn short: to block YouTube while your child does homework on your phone, lock both the YouTube app and youtube.com in the browser, and make sure only your PIN can undo it. Restricted Mode and YouTube Kids only filter videos, and Focus mode switches off in one tap. FocusEdge's Study Mode locks both until Study Mode ends.
It starts with one video "for the chapter". Then the next video plays by itself, then Shorts, and the maths is still not done. If your child does homework on your phone, YouTube is usually the first thing you want to shut.
YouTube's own settings don't stop videos, they only filter them. To block YouTube you have to lock both the app and youtube.com in the browser, and the lock needs a PIN that only you know.
Do Restricted Mode and YouTube Kids block YouTube?
Restricted Mode
Restricted Mode hides some mature videos. Everything else still plays, including cartoons, gaming videos and endless Shorts. It filters YouTube; it doesn't block it.
YouTube Kids
YouTube Kids is a separate app with videos picked for children. It is still a video app, and a child can watch it for hours. It doesn't stop the main YouTube app either.
Uninstalling or disabling YouTube
On most Android phones, YouTube is built in, so you can only disable it. That hides it for you too, and youtube.com still opens in Chrome. You then have to remember to turn it back on every time.
Hiding the icon
Children find hidden apps quickly, from search, from a link in WhatsApp, or from a shared video.
What partly works on Android?
Focus mode in Digital Wellbeing
Open Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Focus mode, pick YouTube and turn it on. The app pauses, but there is no PIN: it switches off from the quick settings panel in one tap. And youtube.com still works in the browser.
App timers
In the same Digital Wellbeing screen, you can give YouTube a daily limit, such as 5 minutes. When time is up, the app pauses for the rest of the day. The limit can be changed in Settings without a PIN, and it counts your use too.
App pinning
App pinning keeps one app on screen and needs your PIN to leave it (search App pinning in Settings). If the homework is in one app only, this stops YouTube well. If it needs a browser, pinning Chrome leaves youtube.com open. (More in How to lock apps before giving your phone to your child.)
How do I block YouTube only during homework?
To block YouTube properly during homework, the phone has to do three things at once:
- Lock the YouTube app, and any other video or game app.
- Block youtube.com in the browser too, while the websites for homework still open.
- Stay that way until you enter your PIN, and lock Settings so it can't be undone.
That is what Study Mode in FocusEdge does. FocusEdge is an app for parents in India whose child does homework on the parent's phone, on Android, iPhone and iPad. You pick the study apps and study websites once. When your child asks for the phone, you turn on Study Mode: only those apps and websites open, and YouTube stays locked, in the app and in the browser. You can set a timer from 1 to 8 hours, or no timer. When homework is done, enter your PIN, or let the timer run out, and YouTube is back for you, exactly as it was. On Android, Settings stays locked during Study Mode, so it can't be undone from there.
On an iPhone or iPad
Focus mode, app timers and app pinning are Android settings. FocusEdge works on iPhone and iPad too, and Study Mode does the same job there: the YouTube app is locked and youtube.com is blocked in Safari and other browsers until your PIN or the timer ends Study Mode.
What if the teacher sends a YouTube video?
Sometimes the homework really is a video. Watch that one together, then turn Study Mode on for the rest. Or take the phone back, enter your PIN, and add YouTube to the study apps for that evening. You decide, not the autoplay.
Questions parents ask
How do I lock the YouTube app on my phone?
On Android, Focus mode and app timers can pause YouTube, but there's no PIN and youtube.com still opens in the browser. To really lock it, use a study mode with a PIN. In FocusEdge's Study Mode, the YouTube app and youtube.com stay locked until your PIN or the timer ends Study Mode.
Can I block YouTube Shorts only?
YouTube's Time management settings include a daily Shorts feed limit (YouTube Help). Android Police reports that the limit can now be set to zero minutes in the Android and iPhone apps, but on a normal account you can tap Ignore to dismiss it, and Shorts still show in Subscriptions, search and shared links (Android Police). So it won't hold when your child is using your phone.
FocusEdge doesn't block Shorts on their own. In Study Mode, YouTube is either on your study list or it isn't: leave it off and the whole app and youtube.com stay locked, Shorts included. If homework needs one video, watch it together, then turn Study Mode on.
Will YouTube come back after homework?
Yes. Study Mode only locks YouTube while it's on. Enter your PIN, or let the timer you chose run out, and YouTube opens again for you, exactly as you left it.
Does it block youtube.com in Chrome too?
Yes. In Study Mode only your study websites open, so youtube.com is blocked in the browser as well as in the YouTube app.
