To block YouTube channels from recommendations, open More beside a video on Home or Watch Next and select Don't recommend channel. For a child's account, use Block channel for kids or Block entire channel in YouTube Kids instead.
The short version
- Recommendations: choose Don't recommend channel from a suggested video's menu.
- Live chat and mentions: block the person to stop unwanted interactions.
- Your channel: use Hide from channel for unwanted commenters.
- Children: block specific channels or approve the content they can watch.
- All of YouTube: manage the app and website separately.
- Browser filtering: use BlockTube to hide a channel's videos, including in search.
| Method | What it does | Time | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recommendation feedback | Changes suggested channels | Under a minute | A channel crowds your feed |
| TV feedback | Changes TV suggestions | Under a minute | You watch on a TV device |
| Interaction block | Stops unwanted interactions | Under a minute | Someone chats or mentions you |
| Hide a commenter | Hides their channel comments | A few minutes | You manage your own channel |
| Child channel block | Blocks that channel's uploads | A few minutes | A child should avoid a creator |
| Approved content | Allows handpicked Kids content | A few minutes | You want to choose what plays |
| App and website blocks | Restricts YouTube broadly | A few minutes to set up | You want to stop YouTube access |
| Browser extension | Hides a channel in the browser | A few minutes to install | You want videos hidden in search too |
Keep a Channel Out of Recommendations
On a computer, Android phone, iPhone, or iPad, sign in and find a video, Short, or post from the unwanted channel on Home or Watch Next. Open More beside its title, then choose Don't recommend channel or Don't recommend posts from channel.
Treat this as feedback about your feed, rather than a ban on watching the channel. YouTube uses it as a recommendation signal, so seeing a channel through a search or a direct visit is not evidence that this control failed. If the option is missing, return to a recommended item on one of those pages and check that you are signed in.
Remove a Channel from TV Recommendations
In the YouTube app on a smart TV, streaming device, or game console, highlight a recommended video from that channel. Press and hold the remote's Select button, then choose Not interested.
Choose Tell us why, then Don't recommend channel. This is the TV route for changing suggestions, so use it on a recommended video rather than expecting the channel page to contain the same menu.
Block Live Chat and Mention Interactions
Block someone during a live chat
On a computer, click the viewer's live chat message or open its More menu. Click Block, then click Block again in the confirmation pop-up.
On Android, iPhone, or iPad, sign in to the YouTube app and tap the viewer's message during the live stream. On Android, choose Block from the pop-up message; on iPhone or iPad, tap Block.
Block someone who mentions you
In the signed-in mobile app, open Notifications at the top right of Home and tap Mentions. Open More beside that person's mention notification, select Block this user, then confirm with Block.
These controls address live chat messages, comments, and mentions. If you own a channel, an interaction block still lets you see that person's comments in YouTube Studio, so use the separate hiding method below for creator moderation.
Unblock someone
To unblock, open the YouTube block and unblock instructions, follow its link to myaccount.google.com/blocklist, and select the unblock icon beside the person. If they are not listed there, Google Account Help notes that YouTube channel and live chat blocks may not appear on that list.
If comments are missing across videos, check Restricted Mode as well, since it prevents you from viewing comments. Follow the steps to turn off Restricted Mode on YouTube if you control that setting and want comments visible again.
Hide a Commenter from Your Own Channel
Sign in to YouTube and find a comment the person left on your channel or video. Open More beside the comment and select Hide from channel.
To add someone manually, copy their channel URL from their channel homepage and open YouTube Studio. Go to Settings, Community moderation, then User management; under Automated Filters, paste the URL into Hidden users and select Save.
This hides the user's comments across your channel's videos, and the user is not notified. To show their new comments again, return to Hidden users, select Remove beside their name, then Save.
Restrict a Channel for a Child
Use your linked parent account
For a supervised child account or YouTube Kids profile, sign in to YouTube with the linked parent account. In the mobile app, open the channel page, tap More, and choose Block channel for kids.
If the warning about similar videos appears, tap CONTINUE. Select BLOCK beside the intended child and tap Done; the button changes to UNBLOCK if you later want to reverse the choice.
On a computer, open the channel page's About tab and click Report user, then select Block channel for kids. Continue past the warning if shown, select BLOCK beside your child, and click DONE.
Block inside YouTube Kids
Sign in to YouTube Kids and open a video from the channel. On the watch page, tap More at the top of the video, tap BLOCK, and choose Block entire channel.
Tap BLOCK again and enter the displayed numbers or your custom passcode. Use the watch page for the whole-channel choice, because Block this video on the home screen only targets that video.
The restriction covers uploads to that channel, not copies uploaded elsewhere or similar creators. If your child uses the same Google Account for YouTube and YouTube Kids, channel blocks carry over to Kids; signing out of Kids makes content blocked while signed in available again.
Switch YouTube Kids to Approved Content
Choose Approve content yourself when you would rather select what your child can watch than keep adding unwanted channels. In this mode, viewing is limited to handpicked videos, channels, and collections, and the child cannot search for videos.
On the child's device, open YouTube Kids and tap Settings. Complete the multiplication problem or enter your custom passcode, then select the child's profile and enter your parent account password.
Select EDIT SETTINGS, then Approve content yourself, review Getting Started, and tap Select. Tap the approval icon beside each collection, channel, or video you want available, then select DONE.
To change that selection later, tap Manage under Approved content only. Family Link also offers Controls, YouTube, then YouTube Kids Settings for content levels, Search, or removing Kids access, but switch into approval mode inside the Kids app.
Block the YouTube App and Website
Use Family Link
For app blocking, the child's device must run Android 6.0 or later, or Chrome OS 71 or later. Open Family Link, select your child, then go to Screen time, Time limits, and App limits.
Select YouTube, tap the Allowed toggle so its status becomes Blocked, and tap Done. The block takes about five minutes or applies once the device connects to the internet; some required system apps cannot be blocked.
For Chrome website access, select your child in Family Link and open Controls, then Google Chrome and Web. Under Manage sites, open Blocked sites, tap Add a website, and enter youtube.com.
Entering the domain rather than www.youtube.com also covers addresses such as m.youtube.com. On computers, iPhones, and iPads, a child can also leave the supervised Chrome profile or use another browser, where those Chrome controls do not apply.
Use Apple's family controls
With the updated parental controls in iOS 27 or iPadOS 27, open Settings, Family, your child's name, then Apps & Websites. Enter the Screen Time passcode if asked, select YouTube's app or website entry, and tap Block App or Block Website twice to confirm.
To use those updated controls, every device in your Family Sharing group needs the new software, and the organizer or parent needs to update the family's parental controls. If you cannot update every device, you can keep using the previous controls or adjust them directly on the child's device.
Before iOS 27 or iPadOS 27, use the older Screen Time controls. On iOS 18 or iOS 26, and the corresponding iPadOS versions, open Settings, Screen Time, then Content & Privacy Restrictions; select your child first when managing their settings.
Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions, then open App Store, Media, Web, & Games and Web Content. Choose Limit Adult Websites, tap Add Website under Never Allow, and enter the YouTube website URL you want blocked.
For the YouTube app on devices using these earlier controls, use the delete-app steps in the FAQ below. Add the website restriction too, since deleting the app does not block browser access.
Use a Browser Extension for Extra Filtering
In Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on a computer, install BlockTube from the Chrome Web Store or Mozilla Add-ons. Add the channel's name or ID in its settings, or use the block option it adds to YouTube's menus. It hides that channel's videos across YouTube in that browser, including search, and redirects visits to blocked channels to YouTube's home page.
For desktop Chrome, open the Chrome Web Store, select BlockTube, and choose Add to Chrome. Read the permissions request and choose Add extension only if you trust it, then open its icon beside the address bar. In Microsoft Edge, follow the steps to install Microsoft Edge add-ons to add it from the Chrome Web Store.
If it stops working, open Chrome's More menu, then Extensions and Manage extensions. Check that it is enabled and review Details for site access; use Chrome's extension management instructions if you need to change that permission.
On Mozilla Add-ons, look for BlockTube by amitbl when installing in Firefox. A channel ID targets a specific channel more precisely than a name, because channel names can be duplicated or changed while IDs stay the same. The Mozilla listing also offers BlockTube for Firefox on Android.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I block a YouTube channel everywhere on a normal adult account?
No. YouTube's own channel controls change recommendations and block chat, comment, and mention contact. To hide a channel's videos across YouTube in a browser, use an extension such as BlockTube; for a child, use Block channel for kids.
Does Don't recommend channel remove the channel from search?
No. It is recommendation feedback, so do not rely on it to remove search results or prevent direct viewing. Use BlockTube for browser filtering, or child channel controls when restricting what a supervised child can watch.
Can Family Link block one specific YouTube channel?
Use your linked parent account in YouTube to choose Block channel for kids. Family Link's app and website controls serve a broader purpose, while Block entire channel is available inside YouTube Kids.
Can router, DNS, or phone settings block one YouTube channel?
Not with the app and website controls described here. Family Link and Screen Time restrict YouTube as a whole site or app. For a child's channel restriction, use YouTube's channel controls instead.
Can I delete or disable YouTube instead?
On iPhone or iPad, hold the app, tap Remove App, then Delete App and Delete. For an installed Android app on Android 13 or later, open Google Play's profile menu, choose Manage apps & devices, then Manage, select YouTube, and tap Uninstall; disabling a preinstalled copy depends on the phone maker.
Does deleting YouTube stop browser access?
No. Deleting the app does not stop youtube.com in a browser, so add a website block in Family Link or Screen Time as well.