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No one can deny the popularity of Smart TVs in the modern age. They are famous for their convenience and limitless accessibility to the internet and social media platforms. They act no different from a high-tech smartphone that you can use to send emails, browse the internet, and check the Facebook feed. However, things are not that simple.
The limitless accessibility of these TVs means children in the house can access content that is not suitable for their age and maturity level. Nearly every popular brand on the market offers top-notch parental controls that help you set a limit on what kids can access using the TV.
However, setting up the parental control feature on various TV units can get complicated sometimes. This article aims to help you safely put parental controls on the most popular TV brands on the market. With that said, can you set up parental control on every Smart TV?
Table of Contents
Do Smart TVs Have Parental Controls?
Many famous TV units on the market, including Samsung, TCL, LG, Sony, and Vizio, offer top-notch convenience for parents.
They provide maximum setting options to prevent kids from accessing undesirable content or websites. Almost every high-end TV offers multiple user profiles that allow parents to create a separate child account with restricted access.
You can filter out website content, multiple apps, and undesired children’s games, besides maintaining screen time management on a smart TV if you know how to use the system’s controls safely.
Many people use different video streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. The availability of unlimited content types and versatility of these platforms need to be restricted if you have children that play TV during their spare time.
As a result, these platforms allow users to set up restrictions to prevent any misuse from the kids’ side.
How Do I Set Up Parental Controls On My Samsung TV?
Samsung always places its users’ convenience in the top slot. That is why the company offers multiple parental controls for parents on its smart TVs. In this way, the company ensures the parents decide what their kids can watch on TV and what they cannot.
The following is the perfect way of setting up parental controls in your Samsung smart TV;
Ratings Based Restrictions
Ratings-based restrictions on Samsung TVs are the most convenient option for everyday users. It allows parents to set up device control settings in a way that lets children play only “G and PG-rated” programs and movies.
Any program with higher ratings always requires a pin or password once you turn the restrictions on.
You only have to follow these steps to set up ratings-based restrictions on your Samsung smart TVs:
Step 1
The first step in the process requires you to select “settings” once you press the “Menu” option.
Step 2
After selecting the settings menu, look for “Broadcasting” in the settings window that pops up. Click on the option once you scroll down to Broadcasting.
Step 3
Clicking the “Broadcasting” option will pop up a new window with multiple options. However, look for “Program Rating Lock Settings” in the window. Simply click the option after successfully finding the option.
Step 4
The fourth step in the process involves entering the password. Enter the password whether or not you have set it up before, the device comes with a built-in password that is 0000.
Step 5
Tick the “Program Rating Lock” after you have successfully entered the correct password. Multiple options will appear on the screen after you click on the above option.
However, “TV ratings” and “movie ratings” are of your concern for the time being.
Step 6
In the last step, you will set up ratings-based restrictions on TV programs and other movies. You can select the TV Rating or Movie Rating option once you have entered the correct password in the previous step.
There will be multiple rating categories; you can choose a “G” or “PG” ratings for restricted access to your children.
This is all you need to set up rating-based restrictions on a Samsung TV. After setting the limits, users will have to enter the password every time they want to watch a program or a movie of a higher rating.
How Do I Set Up Parental Controls On My Sony TV?
There are multiple ways to set up parental control mechanisms on a Sony smart TV. However, we are going to discuss the best one that works for nearly every model of Sony.
Setting Up A Parental Lock
The most common and easiest way to set up parental controls on a Sony TV is to set up a parental lock that is relatively straightforward and easy.
Step 1
The first involves the selection of the “settings” menu from the Home Screen window.
Step 2
Clicking the settings menu will pop up a window with multiple options. Scroll all the way to personal, and select parental lock from the “personal” menu.
Step 3
You can easily set up a new one or change the pin already in use once you select the parental lock option from the “personal” menu.
Step 4
The last step is the most important one as it involves selecting programs and different streaming services for restricted access. The TV requires users to enter the parental lock password once they choose the TV programs and other streaming services for restricted access based on ratings.
How Do I Set Up Parental Controls On My LG TV?
LG is also a top-notch TV brand that offers highly efficient smart TVs.
There are multiple ways you can set up a parental control mechanism on an LG smart TV. However, we have discussed the best one.
Enable The “Channel Locks” Options From The Safety Window
Step 1
As a first step, you need to press and hold the settings button on the remote control.
Step 2
Holding the settings button for 5-6 seconds will open up a new window on the screen. In this step, you should select the “Safety” option once the settings window pops up.
Step 3
The third step involves turning on the safety features by clicking a box next to “Safety” on the screen.
Step 4
Select the channel locks in the “Safety” window once you turn on the safety feature in the previous step.
Step 6
Select the source of the channel before you proceed to select multiple channels for a password setup.
Step 7
In the last step, you can quickly select one or multiple channels for a password setup. You can also click the “All” option if you want to protect every channel with a password.
The TV asks for a password every time you want to access restricted channels.
How Do I Set Up Parental Controls On My Vizio TV?
Vizio TV also packs impressive parental controls features that are convenient and easy to use for many users. You can use multiple restriction options to block certain channels, streaming platforms, and movies.
Adjusting Parental Controls On Vizio TV
Step 1
The first step in the process is to press the menu button on the remote control.
Step 2
Pressing the menu button will open up a new window with multiple options. In this step, scroll the window until you reach and select the “Parental Control” option.
Step 3
The third step is the most important one. In this step, you will be able to manipulate multiple security options of the device. You can tap the “Channel Block” option to apply various restrictions on channels based on their ratings. Use arrow buttons on the remote to help you quickly adjust settings.
Step 4
In the last step, set up a password by clicking the “Access Code” option.
How Do I Set Up Parental Controls On My Vizio TV?
You can set up parental controls on Vizio TV by following these steps:
Step 1
Navigate to the settings menu after pressing the Home button.
Step 2
Click on the “parental controls” option and create a password for restricted access.
Step 3
Select “TV Tuner” for adjusting settings of parental controls. You can ban certain apps and programs based on their ratings in this option.
Can You Block Apps On Smart TV?
Blocking certain apps on Smart TV is not a complicated thing anymore. All you need to do is to employ a correct technique to block certain apps from Your TV.
This section of the post will help you block YouTube and other related apps on your smart TV.
How can I Block YouTube And Other Apps on Smart TV?
YouTube is one of the most favorite kids’ apps throughout the globe. The availability of highly versatile content on this social media platform makes it what it is today.
Children access YouTube for many reasons. They can watch game tutorials, play cartoons, listen to their favorite podcasts, and do many other things on YouTube.
The bad thing about YouTube is that it contains content that may be inappropriate for children. That is why you can think of blocking it on your TV if you are uncertain about its utility.
Almost all smart TVs on the market offer the top-notch convenience of quickly blocking unwanted apps. In this way, you can select some apps to secure that you do not want your children to access. I am briefly going to explain an easy-to-follow procedure of blocking it on your smart TV.
How To Block YouTube And Other Apps On Sony Smart TV?
The method of blocking apps on Sony TV is not an easy one. There were a few methods that worked previously to block apps quickly.
However, you need to set up a different user profile to restrict the availability of any apps on your Sony smart TV these days.
All you have to do is to create a user profile with limited access on your Sony TV to block YouTube on your device. Please follow the provided steps to set up a user profile with restricted access:
Step 1
Select “settings” from the menu option of the TV in the first step.
Step 2
Scroll down the settings window until something like the “personal” tab appears on the screen.
Step 3
This is the most critical step in blocking YouTube from your Sony TV. After tapping the “personal” tab, select “Security & Restrictions” to create a separate user profile with limited access.
Step 4
In the fourth step, you can set up a password to access the restricted apps.
Step 5
The fifth step involves the selection of apps that you do not want to ban.
Step 6
After you have selected apps that are accessible by the child, the last step is to press the “Back” button on your remote to save settings for a separate user profile with limited access.
How Can I Block YouTube And Other Apps On LG Smart TV?
Restricting YouTube on LG smart TV is somewhat straightforward and easy. You just have to follow some quick steps to ban YouTube access on your LG TV.
Step 1
Press the menu button on the provided remote control of the TV.
Step 2
Once you have pressed the smart menu option on the remote, a new window will appear on the screen. The second step involves the selection of settings on the window that pops up.
Step 3
Selecting the “lock” options that appear in the settings windows.
Step 4
Click the “application lock” after you have clicked the “lock” option in the previous step.
Step 5
Select the applications you want to block. When you press the “application lock,” it pops up a window that contains the list of applications on your TV. You can select the apps from the list to restrict their access.
Step 6
In the last step, you can save or undo the changes you recently made. If you press “ok,” the applications you selected in the previous step will no longer be accessible by the children. However, if you press “exit,” no recent changes will be saved.
How Can I Block YouTube And Other Apps On Modern Samsung TVs?
Blocking YouTube and other related apps from a Samsung TV is like the one we discussed for an LG TV.
However, I do not want any confusion between the users of the two. That is why I am mentioning the process for Samsung TVs separately.
Step 1
Select the “Apps” option that appear on the Home Screen.
Step 2
Once you select “apps,” a window containing all the apps on your TV pops up. From those apps, you only have to change the settings to restrict access for some apps. So select the “settings” once the menu screen pops up.
Step 3
Look for a “lock” option that allows you to lock specific apps on your TV. Once you find the “lock” menu, click on it to proceed to the next step.
Step 4
After you click on the lock option in the settings menu, a window will pop up containing all the apps on your TV. Select the apps that you want to restrict or secure from undesired usage.
You can choose one or multiple apps on the TV for a secure utility of the smart TV and the internet.
Step 5
Enter the password of your TV after you have selected desired apps for restricted accessibility. It may seem unnecessary, sometimes.
However, password requirements enhance the device’s security as it ensures no one other than the actual owner makes changes to the device and its settings.
Step 6
After you have entered the security password in the previous step, you only have to select “done” in the last step to ensure changes you recently made have been saved.
Following these simple 6 steps on your Samsung Smart TV will enable you to lock specific apps on your device for restricted accessibility.
The TV asks for the password every time someone tries to access the selected apps once you restrict the accessibility.
How Can I Block YouTube And Other Apps On New Vizio Smart TVs?
No one can deny the significance of Vizio smart TVs for crystal-clear picture clarity and top-notch graphics.
However, restricting a particular app’s accessibility on these TVs is somewhat complicated compared to others, including Sony, Samsung, and LG. that said, you can follow the process mentioned below to restrict or ban the accessibility of any app.
It is pertinent to mention that the user manual can be the most important companion for you if you are trying to ban some apps.
Step 1
The first step in the process involves accessing “parental control settings” on your Vizio TV. It is challenging to mention where you can find these settings as different models have different locations for them.
You can find them after selecting settings from the app menu. However, help from the user manual seems most appropriate for this job.
Step 2
Enter the password for parental control settings. This password is usually saved by users when they set up the device for the first time. After entering the password, you can proceed to the next step.
Step 3
Select apps from the parental control settings menu for restricted access. You can select multiple apps depending upon their nature for safe usage by children.
Step 4
The last step in the process involves saving the settings that you recently made in the third step. No one can access selected apps without a pin or password after saving the recently made changes.
However, if you want to undo the restrictions on accessibility, you can reverse the things you did in step 3. This thing allows every user in the home to access all the apps in the system without entering any pin or password.
Conclusion
Setting up a parental control mechanism on your smart TV saves your children from inappropriate content that does not match their age and maturity level.
You can quickly set up parental controls on many modern TV devices after following the content of this post.
