Restrict YouTube content available to users

As an administrator, you can set up your network or managed devices to restrict which YouTube videos are available to employees and students in your organization.

Only apply these settings to networks used by employees or students in your organization. This configuration is not recommended for networks used by ISP customers.

We offer Strict and Moderate content restriction options. Learn more about what content is available in Restricted Mode.

Option 1: DNS

1. Open your network’s DNS settings.
2. Add a CNAME for the following hostnames:
   • www.youtube.com
   • m.youtube.com
   • youtubei.googleapis.com
   • youtube.googleapis.com
   • www.youtube-nocookie.com

   To set strict restricted access, set the CNAME value to restrict.youtube.com.

   To set moderate restricted access, set the CNAME value to restrictmoderate.youtube.com.

Do not give a CNAME to other YouTube hostnames, such as:

• youtube.com
• s.ytimg.com
• youtu.be
• googleapis.com

If you change the CNAME for these hostnames, YouTube might not function correctly.

Option 2: HTTP headers

Insert an HTTP header into requests to the following domains:

• www.youtube.com
• m.youtube.com
• youtubei.googleapis.com
• youtube.googleapis.com
• www.youtube-nocookie.com

To set strict restricted access, insert YouTube-Restrict: Strict.

To set moderate restricted access, insert YouTube-Restrict: Moderate.

Note: HTTP header filtering is not supported for native mobile applications.

Option 3: Chromebooks

Go to Safe Search and Restricted Mode to learn how to enable YouTube Restricted Mode.

Approve specific content for your network

Administrators can make additional videos viewable for signed-in users in your organization by adding YouTube video approvers or giving unrestricted YouTube access. You can configure these settings for YouTube in the Admin console for your organization.