How To Set Up Netflix Parental Controls
Learn how to set parental controls on your child’s Netflix account.
Netflix is one of the most popular online streaming services in the U.S., with more than 100 million subscribers. Its content includes movies, TV shows, documentaries, and more, and it runs the gamut from kid-friendly to adult-only. Netflix can be accessed via web browsers, smart TVs, tablets, smartphones, and even consoles such as Xbox One and Playstation 4.
Parental Control Settings
With Netflix’s parental restrictions, you can add profiles for everyone in your family — each with different parental control settings to limit what content they can access. It’s best to set up these changes from a computer.
How to create a profile for your child
- Log in to Netflix.com. You’ll be greeted with a screen that says Who’s watching?
- Click on the Add Profile icon to the far right.
- Input your child’s name and then click Continue.
- On the Manage Profiles screen, you will be able to create additional parental controls on the account you just created. Click the pencil icon on the account.
- Click on the dropdown labeled Allowed TV Shows and Movies and choose one of these four options:
- For Little Kids only: This category features G-rated content suitable for younger children, including a variety of cartoons, nature documentaries, and silly kids’ movies and TV shows.
- For Older Kids and below: This category adds PG-rated movies and TV shows that include themes of violence — although no blood or gore is present.
- For Teens and below: This category adds PG-13 content that will not be suitable for younger children. Violence will be more graphic, and there will be mild explicit content.
- All Maturity levels: No restrictions. NC-17, NR, R, and UR content is available.
How to restrict by maturity level
- Log in to your Netflix account and select your profile.
- Click on your icon on the top-right corner of the screen and select Account from the dropdown that appears.
- Navigate to the Profile & Parental Controls section.
- Click the drop-down arrow next to your child’s profile.
- Navigate to Viewing Restrictions and click Change.
- You will be prompted to enter your password.
- Enter your password and click Continue.
- Choose which Maturity Rating is appropriate for your child and click Save.
Bark helps families manage and protect their children’s digital lives.
How to restrict specific titles
- Log in to your Netflix account and select your profile.
- Click on your icon on the top-right corner of the screen and select Account from the dropdown that appears.
- Navigate to the Profile & Parental Controls section.
- Click the drop-down arrow next to your child’s profile.
- Navigate to Viewing Restrictions and click Change.
- You will be prompted to enter your password.
- Enter your password and click Continue.
- Navigate to Title Restrictions for [name of account].
- Enter the titles of any movies or shows you’d like to prevent your child from watching.
- Click Save.
How to lock individual profiles
Prior to adding this new feature, your child would still be able to use your profile to browse and watch whatever titles they want. Now, you can add a PIN to your profile to prevent your child from accessing it.
- Log in to your Netflix account and select your profile.
- Click on your icon on the top-right corner of the screen and select Account from the dropdown that appears.
- Navigate to the Profile & Parental Controls section.
- Click the drop-down arrow next to your profile.
- Navigate to Profile Lock and click Change.
- You will be prompted to enter your password.
- Enter your password and click Continue.
- Check the box next to Require a PIN to access [your name]’s profile.
- Create a 4-digit PIN and click Save.
How to view what your child has recently watched
Netflix also allows you to view the recent streaming activity. This allows you to see the exact date and time content has been viewed on Netflix, as well as from where and on what device.
- Click on your icon in the top-right corner of the screen again and click on Account.
- In the Settings section, select Recent Device Streaming Activity. Here you will see the most recently used devices with their locations.
Helpful Resources for Families
Here are some awesome tools to help families navigate raising kids in the digital age!
All-in-One Parental Control Guide
Your go-to list of parental controls for devices, apps, games, and more.
Bark's Parenting Facebook Group
Bark’s Parenting in a Tech World Facebook group has over 190k members.
The 12 Most Dangerous Apps
Learn about which apps are both popular with kids and pretty concerning.
Bark — The Parental Control Solution
In addition to setting parental controls on your child’s device, the next safety layer parents and caregivers should strongly consider is a monitoring solution to assess the content their kids encounter (and produce) across text messages, social media, email, and more.
Bark helps families manage and protect their children’s entire online worlds. Our award-winning service monitors 30+ of the most popular apps and social media platforms for signs of issues like cyberbullying, suicidal ideation, online predators, threats of violence, and more. Our web filtering and screen time management tools empower families to set healthy limits around the sites and apps their kids can access and when they can visit them. Sign up today to start your free, one-week trial.
