YouTube’s Smart Timer Feature: Your New Weapon Against Video Addiction

If you are a parent concerned about the amount of time your children spend watching YouTube Shorts, there is finally some hope on the horizon.

YouTube has announced a new daily timer for Shorts, accessible to all users, not solely adults. Later this year, the platform will introduce parental controls that let you set time limits on your child’s Shorts viewing. Unlike the adult version, children will be unable to bypass these restrictions.

The mechanism is straightforward: you set a daily limit in the app’s Settings section, and once your child reaches it, Shorts will be paused entirely until the next day.

There are no loopholes or exceptions, such as “just another video.” Currently, this feature is being progressively rolled out to general users on mobile devices, enabling anyone to set their own limits. It functions as a self-regulating tool that notifies users when their allotted time has expired; however, it can be dismissed to continue browsing.

When the parental control feature becomes available, it will not be accessible to children. Amid rising concerns regarding social media addiction—and with states such as New York exploring regulations to limit app access for young users—YouTube’s initiative appears to be a crucial measure.

Until an official method to entirely disable Shorts is implemented, this timer may represent the most effective resource for parents.

Source: Google