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As the largest and most popular platform for video content, YouTube has become the go-to place for all demographics. From kids and adults to the elderly, millions of people turn to this website when looking for various videos, be they funny short clips or in-depth tutorials.
Due to the age variety of its audience, YouTube had to impose certain restrictions on the type of content uploaded to the site and who could access it. While the platform doesn’t allow for strictly adult content, some videos are still deemed inappropriate for younger audiences. This is where YouTube’s age restriction policy comes in. And although it’s undoubtedly useful, it can be annoying to search for a specific video and find out it’s off-limits.
The easiest way to resolve this issue would be simply to log in to your account. However, if that’s not an option, there are other ways to watch whatever you want on YouTube. In this article, we’ll show you how to bypass age restrictions on YouTube and enjoy all of the content on the platform without limitations.
How to Bypass YouTube Age Restriction on an iPhone
You can bypass the age restriction on your iPhone YouTube app in only a few simple steps:
- Open the YouTube app on your iPhone.
- Check to make sure you’re logged into your account. You should see your account picture in the upper-right corner.
- If you’re logged in, tap on your account picture. This will bring up your account menu.
- At the bottom of the menu, tap on Settings.
- Tap on General.
- You’ll see various options for the YouTube app. Restricted Mode will be among the first ones. If this mode is turned on, it’ll be marked with a blue button on the right.
- Tap on the blue button. It should slide to the left and turn white, signifying that the Restricted Mode has been turned off.
Switching the Restricted Mode off should make viewing all content possible without age restriction.
How to Bypass YouTube Age Restriction on an Android Device
Several options are available if you want to gain access to age-restricted YouTube videos on your Android device.
First, you can turn the Restricted Mode off in the YouTube app. This method is very similar to the one used for iPhone:
- Open the YouTube app on your Android device.
- Tap on your profile icon in the top right to enter your account options.
- Tap on Settings, which will be near the bottom of the menu.
- Go to General. It should be the very first option from the top.
- In the General menu, scroll down until you see Restricted Mode.
- If the Restricted Mode is turned on, it’ll have a blue button on the right side. Tap it to disable this mode.
Alternatively, you can use several Android apps to bypass the YouTube age restriction. The safest option would be an app like VLC player.
VLC player has a feature that allows video streaming from any URL, including YouTube. To use this feature, follow these steps:
- Install VLC player on your device; this app is available from Google Play Store.
- Open the app and tap More, represented by three dots at the bottom right.
- You’ll see a rectangle with a plus sign in it named New stream; tap on it.
- Paste the URL of the YouTube video you’d like to watch in the address bar and tap the arrow right next to it.
After you’ve done these steps, VLC will start streaming the requested video, bypassing the age restriction.
Finally, you could use third-party apps that allow you to watch any YouTube video while logged out of your account. These apps mostly have a similar interface to the YouTube app and function the same, with the difference of not requiring you to log in to view restricted content.
However, be careful when installing such apps, especially since some aren’t available from Google Play Store, and you’ll need to download them from an unverified source.
How to Bypass YouTube Age Restriction on PC
Bypassing the age restriction will be the easiest by far on a PC. While browsing YouTube videos on your computer, you’ll have many options and techniques at your disposal to access age-restricted content.
Websites such as “YouTube NSFW” or “Listen on Repeat” will allow you to view any YouTube video without logging in. In both cases, all you’ll need to do to get the age-restricted video to play is change the URL.
- For YouTube NSFW, you’ll need to enter nsfw right after youtube in the URL so that it looks like this:
https://www.youtubensfw.com/
.
- In the case of Listen on Repeat, you should enter repeat before youtube in the address bar. Your new URL should start with
https://www.repeatyoutube.com/
.
- Another method to bypass age restrictions on YouTube while on your PC is to use specialized software or sites that let you download YouTube videos on your hard drive. Once you download the video, no restrictions will apply to it.
How to Bypass YouTube Age Restriction on TV
YouTube age restriction can pop up on your smart TV for several reasons. First, you may have logged in with the wrong account. Another culprit is when the YouTube app associated with your account is in Restricted Mode.
In many cases, smart TVs use a brand account as their default login. Those accounts are subject to age restrictions and won’t show all the content available on YouTube.
You can fix this issue by switching to your personal account. The exact steps will vary depending on the particular smart TV model you own, but you’ll likely find account options under the Settings menu or its equivalent.
When logging in to your account, ensure that you’ve entered the birth year info. If that information’s missing, YouTube will default to displaying content suitable for minors.
If you suspect that your YouTube app is in Restricted Mode, here’s how to switch the mode off:
- On your TV, open the YouTube app and verify that you’re logged in.
- Go to Settings and enter the menu by pressing OK or whatever the confirmation button is on your TV controller.
- Navigate to the Restricted Mode option.
- In the prompt that pops up, select Off.
This method will allow you to disable the Restricted Mode for YouTube on your TV. Once you’ve done that, all videos should play normally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some more answers to your questions about YouTube.
What is Restricted Mode?
Restricted Mode is Google’s solution to protecting younger YouTube audiences. When the company restricts mature content, younger viewers cannot play the questionable video.
The content restrictions are set by YouTube and not the content’s creator. YouTube scans the video’s title, metadata, description, and content to determine which videos fall into the NSFW category.
What age does YouTube limit users with Restricted Mode?
Users who are under 18 years old are unable to view NSFW content on YouTube. Of course, this age restriction may vary by region.
How old do you have to be to create a YouTube account?
Google, along with many other companies, set an age limit of 13 years. Users who are under 13 years old are unable to create a YouTube account.
Younger audiences can use the YouTube Kids platform if someone older than 18 creates the account.
Unlock Everything YouTube Has to Offer
Bypassing restrictions can open up plenty of content on YouTube that would otherwise be inaccessible. Since many videos that have educational, informative, or entertainment value fall under the site’s age restriction policy, getting around that restriction could prove quite useful. After all, YouTube’s algorithm isn’t flawless when flagging content as inappropriate for younger audiences, and it can place certain videos in that category even though they might be perfectly safe for viewing.
However, it’s worth noting that, in most cases, YouTube age restriction exists for a good reason. Now that you know how to bypass that restriction, it would be best to double-check whether the content you’re trying to watch is suitable or not before using the suggested methods.
Have you managed to bypass the YouTube age restriction on your platform? What age-restricted video did you want to watch? Let us know in the comment section below.