How to turn off 'Restricted Mode' on YouTube to watch any video without filters
- The Restricted Mode on YouTube can be helpful to filter out unwanted videos from your account, but you may eventually want to turn it off.
- For those looking to turn off Restricted Mode on YouTube, doing so is relatively quick and easy using a personal computer or phone, as long as you have your login information handy.
- Here's what you'll need to do to turn off YouTube's Restricted Mode on a desktop computer, or via the iPhone or Android mobile app.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Restricted Mode allows users to filter out "potentially mature content" on YouTube using things like titles, descriptions, metadata, and age restrictions - though it's worth noting that these filters aren't always accurate, and things can slip through the cracks.
It also blocks the comments on all videos, even the ones you're able to watch.
If you're looking to turn restricted mode off, you're in luck: It's easy enough to do, and should only take you about a minute, provided you're signed into the YouTube account that you used to set up restricted mode, and you're using your personal computer or phone.
That's because some administrators, like libraries and universities, may have enabled restricted mode. In that case, only that administrator - the one who turned it on - has the power to turn it off.
Here's what you'll need to do to turn off Restricted Mode on YouTube using a desktop computer, or the mobile app.
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How to turn off Restricted Mode on YouTube on a computer
This is an extremely quick and easy process to complete, once you know where to go:
1. Go to youtube.com and click on your profile icon, located in the top-right corner of the screen.
2. Scroll to the bottom of that menu and click "Restricted Mode: On."
Devon Delfino/Business InsiderYou can turn off Restricted Mode from the side menu.
3. Toggle the "Activate Restricted Mode" option off (it will go from blue to grey).
How to turn off Restricted Mode on YouTube in the mobile app
The process of turning off restricted mode on the mobile app is just as easy as it is for the desktop version of YouTube.
There are slight differences in the process, however, depending on whether you have an iPhone or an Android.
Either way, here's how to get it done:
1. Open your YouTube app and tap your profile picture in the top-right corner of the screen.
2. Tap "Settings."
3. iPhone users should toggle off the "Restricted Mode" option. Android users should select "General" and then toggle the "Restricted Mode" option off.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to delete your own YouTube videos on a computer or mobile device
How to block videos and channels on YouTube that you don't want yourself or your children to see
A beginner's guide to YouTube Studio, YouTube's built-in video editor, which offers basic editing for free
How to temporarily hide or permanently delete your YouTube account, and erase any trace of yourself from the site