How to Set Parental Controls on Netflix

Ivana

Written by Ivana - Reviewed by Tijana Streaming / Netflix

Published 1 year ago / updated 4 months ago 5 min read

Netflix offers an enormous library of entertainment for you and your family. As the streaming platform offers one account to be used across multiple devices and by multiple users each having their own viewer preferences, it’s really convenient setting up a profile for your kids.

However, the platform has a ton of age-inappropriate content that children can stumble across. Fret not — Netflix enables parents to set parental controls on the content their kids watch and restrict access to mature content, so they are exposed to shows fitted for their age.

As of April 2020, Netflix also rolled out a few more parental controls that let you know what your kids are watching, block certain shows and set up a profile with specific movies and shows appropriate for kids and teenagers.

Before their new parental controls, Netflix only had a “Kids” profile that limited content to only kid-friendly content. But, the Kids profile was quite limiting, especially for older kids who could watch some mature shows, but not rated-R content.

In any case, parental controls are a great way to help your kid learn to make appropriate choices and teach them how to manage screen time independently. Of course, parental controls have the best effect if you have a conversation with your kids about why you are restricting their access to some content.

Below, we’ve explained how you can easily set up parental controls on Netflix.

Here’s how to set up parental controls on Netflix for your kids

You can set up parental control both through the Netflix app and on your web browser. However, it’s best if you do it through your web browser as it allows more options.

1. From the web browser, go to netflix.com, and sign in to your account, click on your profile icon in the top-right corner, and scroll to “Manage Profiles”.
2. On the screen, click on “Add Profile”, enter your kid's name, check the box next to “Kid?”, and then click “Continue”.
3. Click on the profile you created, scroll down to “Maturity Settings”, and click on “Edit”.

4. Enter your account password.
5. On the Viewing Restrictions page, under the “Profile Maturity Rating for Kids” section, select the content age rating for your kids from the offered options:

• All (Recommended for all audiences).
• 7+ (Recommended for aged 7 and up).
• 13+ (Recommended for aged 13 and up).
• 16+ (Recommended for aged 16 and up).
• 18+ (Recommended for aged 18 and up).

6. You can also check the “Display the Netflix Kids Experience with titles just for kids” if you expect your kid to be interacting on Netflix independently. The Kids experience offers a simplified interface and prevents access to all settings.

How to restrict certain shows and movies on Netflix

On the Viewing Restrictions page, you can block specific movies or shows that you think are not appropriate for your kids.

1. Scroll down to the “Title Restrictions for (Name)” section.
2. In the field, just enter the names of the shows. All the movies and shows you’ve selected will appear below the writing field.
3. When you are done, just click “Save”.

How to see what your kids are watching on Netflix

If you’ve set the Viewing Restriction, but you still want to keep an eye on your kid’s watching activity on Netflix, you can do that too. This is how:

1. When you log into your Netflix account, hover your mouse over the down arrow on the right side of the screen, and select “Account”.
2. Under the “Profile & Parental Controls” section, select the drop-down menu for one of your child’s profiles.
3. Find and click on “Viewing Activity”. Here you’ll see a list of all shows and movies your kid has watched.

You can also visit your profile's Viewing Activity and delete "Recently Watched" on Netflix from your viewing history if you want to keep it clean and not get the recently watched list popping up on your profile all the time.

How to create a passcode for Netflix profiles

If you don’t want your kids to access any of your other family members’ profiles and watch content with no restrictions, you can lock away other profiles behind a pin code. To do this:

• Go to the Account page and scroll to the “Profile & Parental Controls” section.
• Select the drop-down menu for the profile you’d like to lock.
• Next to the “Profile Lock” field, click “Change”.
• Enter your Netflix password and wait for the field to require a PIN.
• Enter a 4-digit pin.
• You can also select to require a PIN to add new profiles (This will prevent your child from creating a new profile.)
• Click “Save”.

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