Netflix has a huge catalog of shows and movies, with content suitable for adults and kids. As a parent, you want to be sure that if your kids are watching Netflix, they’re not accessing content that isn’t suitable for them.
How to Create a Kids Profile in Netflix
The first thing you should do when setting up parental controls for Netflix is set up a separate profile for your kids. This means you can apply content restrictions to the profile without affecting what you’re able to watch yourself. It also means any shows that your kids watch don’t influence your Netflix recommendations, so you don’t find that Netflix keeps suggesting you watch Baby Shark’s Space Adventure.
Netflix has a dedicated type of profile that is intended for children aged 12 and under, with a carefully curated selection of shows and movies that are suitable for younger kids. If you have teenagers, you can create a new adult profile but then add content restrictions, as explained later in the article.
To create a new profile on mobile, select the “My Netflix” tab and click the three-bar menu icon. Select “Manage Profiles” and click the “Add Profile” button. To create a profile for kids, toggle “Children’s Profile” on or leave it off to create a new adult profile. Give the profile and name and tap “Save” to create the new profile.
In a browser, click the Profile icon at the top right of the screen and select “Manage Profiles.” Click “Add Profile” and give the new profile a name. Toggle “Children’s Profile” on to create a kids’ profile and click “Save” to create a new profile.
How to Set a Maturity Rating for a Profile
Once you’ve created a new profile, you can set a maturity rating. By default, a children’s profile on Netflix has a maximum rating of PG, meaning no shows or movies rated for older audiences are displayed.
If you want to change this setting, or you’ve set up a new adult profile for older kids, you can choose the exact maturity rating to apply. No content that is rated for older audiences will then appear in that profile. You can change the maturity rating for an adult account on mobile, but you can only change the setting for a children’s account in a web browser.
Sign in to Netflix in a browser, click the Profile icon, and select “Manage Profiles.” Select the profile you want to edit and choose “Viewing Restrictions.” Select the highest maturity rating you want to allow for that profile and click “Save.”
To change an adult maturity rating on mobile, select the “My Netflix” tab and click the three-bar menu icon. Select “Manage Profiles” and choose the profile you want to edit. Tap “Viewing Restrictions” and select “Maturity Rating.” Select the maximum maturity rating you want to allow in the profile.
How to Block Titles in a Netflix Profile
As well as restricting content by maturity rating, you can also completely block specific shows and movies from appearing with a profile. Blocked titles won’t appear anywhere in that profile, even if you search for them. If you’re a parent who doesn’t want your kids watching a specific show, this can be very useful.
Currently, it’s not possible to block titles for a children’s account in the mobile app; you’ll need to do so in a browser.
Sign in to your Netflix account in a browser and click the Profile icon in the top right of the screen. Select “Manage Profiles” and choose the profile that you want to block titles from. Select “Viewing Restrictions” and enter the name of the show or movie you want to block in the “Title Restrictions” field. Select the title from the search results and repeat for any other titles you want to block. Click “Save,” and the selected titles will be blocked from that profile.
If you have older kids with adult profiles, you can block specific titles from the mobile app, too. In the “My Netflix” tab, click the three-bar menu icon. Select “Manage Profiles” and choose the adult profile you want to edit. Select “Viewing Restrictions” and click “Block Titles.” Enter the name of the title you want to block and select the appropriate title from the results. Repeat for any other titles you want to restrict.
How to Lock Adult Profiles with a PIN
There’s no point in creating a profile for your kids if they can just select your profile instead and have access to the entire Netflix catalog without any maturity restrictions. That’s why it’s a good idea to lock your profile with a PIN so that your kids can’t access it easily.
You’ll need to do this in a browser to ensure that the PIN is required to create new profiles. Otherwise, if your kids are smart enough, they’ll create new profiles of their own to watch unrestricted content and then delete them again when they’re done.
Sign in to Netflix in a browser, click the Profile icon, and select “Manage Profiles.” Select your profile and click “Profile Lock.” Check “Require a PIN to access [name’s] profile” and enter a four-digit PIN. Make sure that you check “Require [name’s] PIN to add new profiles” before you click “Save.”
How to See the Viewing History for Another Profile
As a parent, you may want to keep an eye on exactly what your kids are watching on Netflix. You can’t always be looking over their shoulders, however. Thankfully, Netflix makes it easy to see a history of their viewing activity, although you can only find this information when using Netflix in a browser.
Sign in to Netflix in your browser of choice. Click the Profile icon and select “Manage Profiles.” Choose the profile you want to view and select “Viewing Activity.” You can see a list of the shows and movies that have been watched on that account.
As a parent, Netflix has plenty of useful features to help you ensure that your kids aren’t watching content that isn’t suitable for them. If your kids are 12 or under, setting up a children’s account is the simplest solution, as all the content will be PG or lower. For older kids, you can create an adult account and set the maturity rating yourself. Make sure you add a PIN to your own account, however, or your kids will eventually figure out that they can watch anything they want on that.
