How to Block YouTube on iPad and in Safari: Screen Time and Other Options

Updated 11 Nov 2026

Version note: The Apple menu names below follow Apple's iPad User Guide for iPadOS 18 and iPadOS 26, checked on 9 Nov 2026. Apple's iPadOS 27 page for your own iPad no longer lists the web content steps, so on 27 check those screens on your iPad. The YouTube steps follow YouTube Help's page "Turn Restricted Mode on or off on YouTube", checked the same day.

Decide what you want to block

"Block YouTube" can mean three different things, and each has a different tool:

• The YouTube app. Use an app time limit, Downtime, or stop the app from being installed.
• The website in Safari. Use the Never Allow list under Web Content.
• Mature videos only. Use YouTube's Restricted Mode, which filters rather than blocks.

Blocking one leaves the other open, so most people need the first two together.

Option 1: Limit or block the YouTube app with Screen Time

Apple's iPad User Guide (iPadOS 26) gives these steps for limiting an individual app:

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap App Limits, then tap Add Limit.
4. Select one or more app categories. To set limits for individual apps, tap the category name to see all the apps in that category, then select the app you want to limit.
5. Tap Next, then set the amount of time allowed.

Apple notes that "By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached." To stop that, Apple says that if you set a Screen Time passcode, you can turn on Block at Downtime: go to Settings > Screen Time > Downtime and turn on Block at Downtime. Apple says restricted apps then "can't be opened during downtime" and appear dimmed with an hourglass icon.

Option 2: Block the YouTube website in Safari

Apple's iPad User Guide says "You can block specific websites by URL." For iPadOS 18 and iPadOS 26:

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions, then turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Tap App Store, Media, Web, & Games, then tap Web Content.
5. Select Limit Adult Websites, tap Add Website below Never Allow, and enter the URL of the site, for example youtube.com.

In Apple's steps, Never Allow sits under the Limit Adult Websites option, so you select that option to add a site. Check what Web Content shows on your iPad after you add it.

We cannot confirm this path on iPadOS 27. Our iPad guide covers what we found: How to Block Porn on iPad: Screen Time Steps, Passcode and Family Setup.

Other addresses and other browsers

Apple's page says you block websites "by URL" and does not say how it treats other versions of an address. YouTube is reachable at more than one address, such as m.youtube.com, which YouTube Help itself mentions for its mobile site. After adding youtube.com, add any other address you use or see, then test each one. We found no Apple page that says a Never Allow entry also blocks the YouTube app, or that it applies to browsers other than Safari. So do not assume: open the app and every browser installed on the iPad and try YouTube in each.

The same Screen Time menus apply on iPhone: How to Block Websites on iPhone: Screen Time Steps for Any Site.

On a Mac the steps differ: How to Block Websites and Adult Content on a Mac (Screen Time and Safari).

Option 3: Stop the app being installed

If you delete the YouTube app, you can reinstall it in seconds unless installs are restricted. Apple's iPad User Guide gives these steps:

1. Go to the Settings app on your iPad.
2. Tap Screen Time, then tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
3. Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, then choose restrictions for installing or deleting apps and in-app purchases.

Apple's page does not list the options inside that screen, so check what your iPad offers.

Option 4: YouTube's own Restricted Mode

YouTube Help describes Restricted Mode as "an optional setting that you can use on YouTube. This feature can help screen out potentially mature content that you or others using your devices may prefer not to view." It is a filter, not a block: you still reach YouTube.

For the iPhone and iPad app, YouTube Help gives these steps:

1. Sign in to your account.
2. Tap your profile photo.
3. Tap Settings, then General.
4. Turn on or off Restricted Mode.

For the mobile site, YouTube Help says to go to m.youtube.com, tap your profile photo, tap Settings, then Account, and turn Restricted Mode on or off.

YouTube Help also states two limits worth knowing:

• "Restricted Mode works on the browser or device level, so you must turn it on for each browser you use." If a browser or device has multiple profiles, you must turn it on for each profile.
• "When Restricted Mode is turned on, you can't view comments on the videos you watch."

So Restricted Mode helps if the concern is mature videos. It does not stop someone spending hours on YouTube, and anyone who can open the setting can turn it off.

If the iPad is a child's

Apple's Family Sharing is the base layer for a child's iPad. For a child, the same Screen Time steps above begin by tapping the child's name after Screen Time (Apple's steps say "If you want to set app limits for your child, tap your child's name."). Apple also says that for a child's passcode, you set it from your own device: tap Screen Time, scroll down, select the family member, tap Manage Screen Time, then tap Lock Screen Time Settings. On iPadOS 27, Apple's parental controls start at Settings > Family > your child's name instead: websites are under Apps & Websites, and the passcode is under Passcode & Management > Lock Screen Time Settings.

YouTube Help says that if you use the Family Link app, you can turn on Restricted Mode for your child's account if they are not eligible for a supervised experience on YouTube, and that your child cannot then change it on any device they are signed in to. YouTube lists exceptions by age and region, so check that page for your situation.

In our view, talking to the child first helps: a block they understand is less likely to turn into a daily workaround hunt.

Passcode: who holds it matters

Every setting above can be undone by anyone who knows the Screen Time passcode. Apple's steps for your own iPad on iPadOS 26 and earlier are Settings > Screen Time, scroll down, tap Lock Screen Time Settings, then enter a four-digit passcode twice. On iPadOS 27, the route is Settings > Screen Time > Passcode & Management > Lock Screen Time Settings. In our view, if the aim is to cut your own YouTube use, a passcode that someone you trust keeps works better than one you know.

If a block was set by a parent, school or employer, it is theirs to change. Ask them rather than looking for a way round it.

FAQ

Does blocking youtube.com in Safari block the YouTube app?

We found no Apple page saying it does. Apple's page describes blocking websites by URL. Use App Limits or install restrictions for the app, and test both.

Can I block YouTube on iPad without a passcode?

The settings work without one, but Apple says a passcode must be entered before the Screen Time settings you chose can be changed. Without it, anyone using the iPad can switch the settings off.

Does Restricted Mode block YouTube?

No. YouTube Help calls it an optional setting that can help screen out potentially mature content, and says it works on the browser or device level.

Where Mamori fits

Everything above works without any app. Mamori is a newer app for iPhone, iPad and Android, and it is about adult sites, not YouTube. It is not a YouTube blocker and we do not claim it filters YouTube videos or turns on YouTube Restricted Mode. Its SafeSearch switch is for Google and Bing.

What it can do on iPad: block 2.5M+ adult sites across the whole device, every browser and app, using Apple's encrypted DNS setting, and it can also switch on Apple's own adult-website filter in Screen Time. On iPhone and iPad, lookups go over encrypted DNS to Mamori's filtering server so adult sites can be blocked. You can add any site to your own block list, and block apps you choose, so it can be one more way to add a block you set yourself. A lock you choose in advance (a cooldown timer, a random phrase, or a PIN or passphrase a trusted person can hold) slows you down before you weaken protection. On iPad its uninstall guard uses Screen Time, which you can still turn off, so it is a speed bump.

Honest limits: it is built for adults blocking on their own device, not for monitoring a child; a VPN with its own DNS can get around a DNS filter; it has no accountability reports; and with protection off, everything is off.

You can get Mamori from the App Store or Google Play on the homepage: mamoriblocker.com (7 days free on the monthly and annual plans, or a one-time lifetime option).

Related guides

Sources

• Apple Support, iPad User Guide, Set schedules with Screen Time on iPad (iPadOS 26): https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/set-schedules-with-screen-time-ipad37239c84/26/ipados/26
• Apple Support, iPad User Guide, Block apps, app downloads, websites, and purchases on iPad (iPadOS 18 and iPadOS 26): https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/block-apps-app-downloads-websites-purchases-ipad12c0a656/26/ipados/26
• Apple Support, iPad User Guide, Change settings and restrictions in the App Store on iPad (iPadOS 26): https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/change-settings-and-restrictions-ipadee10c6e7/26/ipados/26
• Apple Support, iPad User Guide, Create, manage, and keep track of a Screen Time passcode on iPad (iPadOS 26): https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/create-manage-track-a-screen-time-passcode-ipad07db62e4/26/ipados/26
• Apple Support, iPad User Guide, Block features or content with Screen Time on iPad (iPadOS 27): https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/block-features-or-content-with-screen-time-ipad12c0a656/ipados
• YouTube Help, Turn Restricted Mode on or off on YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/174084

Last checked 9 Nov 2026. This guide is general information, not medical advice.