Can’t block videos on Google displays

[Crysdawg]

Despite having blocked all videos for everyone, my 5 year old can still access YouTube videos on our Google Home Max and Google Home Mini. It’s extremely frustrating as he’s able access clips from PG-13 movies (and yes I also have the filters set to PG or lower). He can also access videos with profanity. 
How do I successfully block YouTube from playing videos???

[Juni]

Hi Crysdawg,

Thanks for posting. I apologize for the inconvenience you're experiencing. We'll work together to identify the cause of the problem and find a solution. Could you check the steps below to see if this is how you blocked the videos? If so, try to turn it off and on again, then reboot your Google Nest Hub Max, and observe if it makes a difference.

Turn on Restricted mode for YouTube Music and YouTube video search.

1. Open the Google Home app .
2. Tap Favourites or Devices .
3. Tap and hold your device's tile.
4. Tap Settings Notifications and Digital Wellbeing YouTube settings.
5. Under 'Use Restricted mode', turn on Restrict for me or Restrict when someone isn’t recognised.

Check out the helpful article below.

Restrict content on your Google Nest speakers and displays

Regards,

Juni

[spadapet]

I have this exact same problem. Just like @Crysdawg I have all video content blocked and all restrictions turned on. If the command is "play videos of Minecraft" then that is blocked. But kids are smart enough to find backdoor commands, if they say "what are Minecraft videos" then YouTube happily shows videos and completely ignores that all videos should be blocked.

I'll say it again: Videos are normally blocked, but some commands like "what are *** videos" skip the block.

Please fix this backdoor to watch videos when they should be blocked.

Ping @Juni, we do have video restrictions turned on.

[Juni]

Hi spadapet,

We appreciate people who are keen on sharing their thoughts with us. We're always looking for ways to improve. I'd suggest you submit feedback about it. See the article below on how to do it.

Share feedback about Google Nest

Regards,

Juni

[NealC]

Same problem here. Video restrictions for all users is turned on and works for commands like 'play a video of dinosaurs', however a slightly different command like 'show me videos of dinosaurs' will bring up a selection of video thumbnails, which when clicked will play without restriction. It also doesn't seem possible to block video sources like netflix?

[Lilapeter]

What is the update here? I have the same issue. Can I get my money back? Google support really sucks. After spending multiple hours on the phone, tons of trouble shooting and knowing that this is a huge legal problem they still won’t compensate anything back. Other than a bunch of trouble shooting tactics that are not applicable to tire out the end users. Google is really going downhill. The support people have a list of scripted lines to brush off people. The support center sounds as close as talking to someone from a scam call center. This is ridiculous. I’m not getting anything related to Google products from now on. 

[lizbrown]

I have the same problem. If there is no way to block youtube completely, I will be returning my two new devices. I have Famiky Link set up with youtube blocked, as well as youtube on "restricted" mode. If the kids ask it to show funny fails, it will do so for hours on youtube. Can it be blocked completely other than putting the whole thing on downtime (then why have it at all?).

[spadapet]

@Juni I’ve sent feedback directly on the Google Nest Hub as you suggested, but there’s no way to track it, I never got a reply, so I assume it goes into a black hole and is ignored. We have to get rid of the Nest Hub screens since the “block all videos” option doesn’t actually block anything.

 If there’s a way to give feedback to actual developers of the YouTube app that runs on Nest Hub I would do that.

[Lilapeter]

Submitting feedback means I’m going to ignore you. This is Google support tactic, what a bunch of bull crap. Just give people their money back and stop scamming people. 

[Lilapeter]

I just got off Google support and I’m telling you all they are the worst of customer service and support I have ever witnessed. From incompetence to just plain full on lying and making up things to to make the end users give up just so everything just becomes unsolvable. 

Strongly recommend everyone moving off this Google home. I had a similar issue in the past with Alexa and they just gave me a new device. With Google it’s full blown drama and lies after lies after lies.

[NealH]

I have the exact same issue. My kids say, "hey Google, show us pictures of videos of (insert topic here)" and Google shows YouTube thumbnails which it happily plays when clicked. Seems like a gaping loophole.

Only downtime truly shuts off videos. It seems really easy to just disable YouTube. Not sure why that is so hard.

[droyal]

I'm also reconsidering my loyalty to Google devices here.  Google is self serving and will never do something that clogs up any of its money funnels

[Juni]

Hi droyal,
 

We appreciate you posting and letting us know what you think. Right now, the best option is to submit feedback using the link in this thread.

Best,

Juni

[Assaih_bell]

I'm experiencing the same issue!  It is so frustrating!

[Juni]

Hi there,

Hey there, thanks for the post — we hear you. We're always looking for ways to improve. Don’t forget to submit feedback using the link provided in this thread. Keep an eye out for news and updates.
 

Best,

Juni

[lizbrown]

Hi Juni,

With respect, I am not submitting this separately as feedback. You can see the issues everyone has with it - this is already my feedback, loud and clear. If your team ignores this and expects customers to fill in a form, that is an even bigger issue.

[NealC]

I've also submitted feedback via the form and not heard anything back. There is a solution of sort that I have tried. If you set up Pihole as a DHCP server on your network (you'll need a permanently on device to run this - we have a NAS, but you could use a raspberry pi as a low power solution) you can block the links to YouTube servers from specific devices on you network (and brower ads etc at the same time) unfortunately, this will also block youtube music so is not a workable solution for us as this is the main reason we bought the devices for our children. If however you use Spotify or another music provider it would probably work as a good solution for you.

[Juni]

Hey everyone,
 

lizbrown, thanks for the details you’ve shared. There is no option to totally block YouTube videos on your Google Nest displays. We're always looking for ways to improve, and we appreciate your feedback. We don't have anything else to share right now, but stay tuned for more news and updates.

NealC, thanks for your input.

Best,

Juni

[BvdM]

OMG.. I am reading these posts and can't believe Google says there is a feature to do Digital wellbeing. My son is 10 years old, I am in IT, so would I know my way around these settings.. but still, his happily watching useless YouTube crap. So so frustrating but then, it makes all sense when it comes to revenue and what the platform promises their clients when it comes to advertisement audiences.

I dont mind even being watched and listened  to 24/7 but please could you just make you features work before lauching it. 

Rediculiuis..

[Juni]

Hey BvdM,

We value those who are willing to share their opinions with us. We're continuously trying to get better. Don’t forget to submit your feedback using the link provided in this thread.

Regards,

Juni