How to Configure Roku Parental Controls
The built-in parental controls on Roku only apply to The Roku Channel, certain streaming services that have these features, and the Live TV input on your Roku TV. There are no parental controls available globally. You may learn how to modify and control each of these settings by following my instructions below.
Step 1: Modify Your PIN Selections
How to Configure Roku Parental Controls
You can restrict what your child may watch on The Roku Channel, prohibit them from adding new channels, and prevent them from subscribing to new services without your consent, all under your PIN Preferences on Roku.
Go to my.roku.com and log into your Roku account to accomplish this. Next, choose Update under PIN Preference. Here, you have the following options to select from:
- Demand a PIN in order to add channels and make purchases.
- Make transactions requiring a PIN (but not adding channels).
- Adding channels or making purchases doesn’t require a PIN.
How to Configure Roku Parental Controls
You will be prompted to create a PIN if you decide to require one and don’t already have one. Make sure your kids can’t figure out your PIN and that you remember it. On The Roku Channel, you can also choose to require a PIN in order to see specific content. The TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings serve as the foundation for the filters.
Select one of the following filters:
- Not on. No PIN is needed for any content.
- Young Children. A PIN is required for content classified PG, 12A, 12, 15, and 18.
- Little Children. A PIN is required for content rated 12A, 12, 15, and 18.
- For content classified 18, a PIN is needed.
- Keep in mind that you may still access restricted content on The Roku Channel; you just can’t play it without a PIN. In the event that the same content is available on other channels, this does not prevent your kids from watching it.
Once everything is done, click Save Changes and accept the terms of service.
Step 2: On your Roku TV, enable parental controls.
You can configure content filters on Roku for your Roku TV’s Live TV input. By doing this, you can exclude content from streaming TV channels that you can access through the Live TV Channel Guide and “over-the-air” stations that your HDTV antenna carries.
Press the Home button on your Roku TV remote, scroll down to choose Settings, and then choose Parental Controls to access these options. If you don’t already have a 4-digit PIN, you’ll be prompted to set one. Keep in mind that this PIN and the PIN on your Roku account are different.
Choose TV tuner to filter Live TV material based on ratings. The TV tuner menu may take some time to search for accessible channels if this is your first time accessing it. Then, the following choices are available under the TV tuner submenu:
- Turn on the parental controls
- Turn on or off the parental controls.
- TV ratings.
- Establish television programme blockers based on material category (V, S, L, D, or Violence, Sexual content, Course language, and Suggestive speech, respectively) or set US television rating limits (Y, Y7, G, PG, 14, MA).
Movie scores. - Define the US film classifications (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17). To learn more about these rankings, click this link to access the MPAA website.
- Canadian English ratings. Establish rating boundaries in Canadian English (C, C8, G, PG, 14+, 18+).
- Go to the cbsc.ca website here for additional details regarding these classes.
French ratings in Canada. Establish rating boundaries in Canadian French (G, 8+, 13+, 16+, 18+). - Go to cbsc.ca for additional details on these classes.
All unrated programmes should be blocked. Unblock/Block all non-rated programmes.
Configure Parental Controls for Particular Streaming Channels
There are ways to impose limitations on Netflix, YouTube, and other channels if you want more sophisticated parental control features on certain streaming services. Popular streaming channels have their own parental controls. The simplest method to find instructions on how to use parental controls for a particular channel is to go to the official website of the provider or get in touch with customer care.
Do You Need a Parental Control App for Roku?
Yes, because third-party parental control apps like Bark give you more control over what your kid watches on Roku.
Bark enhances Roku’s built-in parental controls in several ways:
- It allows you to monitor your child’s activities. Bark’s content monitoring feature scans text messages, emails, photos, and videos for potential issues in 15+ categories, including anxiety, depression, and bullying, and alerts you when it detects any instances of problematic content. This works on any of the 30+ social media platforms and apps, including Roku apps like YouTube, Spotify, and TikTok.
- It lets you pause the internet on your Roku device. If you want your child to stop watching content on Roku, Bark lets you block your Roku device from connecting to the internet.
- It has a great scheduling feature. Bark lets you set different rules for different times of the day and different days of the week. For example, you can block the YouTube app on your Roku device when your child should be doing their homework or be in bed.
But there are some things that Roku’s built-in controls can do that Bark can’t. For example, Roku lets you stop your child from making purchases or adding new channels without a PIN and set content filters based on a program’s TV or movie rating.
Overall, Roku’s built-in controls and Bark work well together. I recommend using both for the best possible results.
Tried Setting Up Roku Parental Controls, But They’re Not Working?
Try These Troubleshooting Steps
- Double-check your settings. You need to hit the Save Changes button and agree to the terms of service to successfully apply new PIN Preferences on Roku.
- Make sure the filters work for the content in question. The filters set in PIN Preferences only apply to content on The Roku Channel. And the filters set on your Roku TV may not apply to movies or TV shows that aren’t rated according to US or Canadian standards.
- Confirm that your software is up to date. Roku often releases firmware updates that may address bugs or enhance features. Go to Settings, select System, and then click on System update on your Roku device. Then, check to see if you have the latest version.
- Restart your Rokudevice. Like many electronic devices, sometimes a simple restart can resolve all kinds of problems. Unplug your Roku device, wait for a minute, then plug it back in.
- Inspect individual channel settings. Roku doesn’t have global parental control settings. But some channels, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and HBO GO have their own parental controls. Find out more by visiting the official website of that channel provider.
- Do some research on the content ratings. Read about the various content rating systems on their official websites and ensure that your settings align with your desired restrictions. Roku’s filters for The Roku Channel are based on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board ratings, and its filters for Live TV content are based on US and Canada content rating standards.
- Contact customer support. If you’ve tried everything else and are still experiencing issues, consider reaching out to Roku’s customer support. They may be able to provide more specific insights based on your particular situation. Roku offers live chat, email, and phone support, and Bark offers email support.
Can Kids Get Past Parental Controls on Roku?
It’s pretty difficult to bypass the parental controls on Roku. In order to watch any channels, shows, or movies that you’ve filtered out on The Roku Channel or Live TV, your kids must input a 4-digit PIN number. This means that as long as you keep your PIN a secret from your children, and it’s not easy to guess, they won’t be able to watch any inappropriate content without your permission.
If you’re using Bark Home, you’ll want to keep your router out of your children’s reach, as a tech-savvy child might realize that they can disable its parental controls just by unplugging the device when you’re not looking.
Are Roku’s Built-In Parental Controls Good Enough in 2024?
Roku’s built-in parental controls are quite good. They allow you to filter out content on The Roku Channel based on age ratings and filter out content from the Live TV input on your Roku TV based on US and Canadian movie and TV rating standards. Additionally, you can set it so that your child can’t make purchases or add channels on Roku without a PIN number.
However, I recommend using them with a third-party parental control app. Bark Home, one of the only parental control apps that works with Roku, complements the built-in parental controls by allowing you to do additional things, like monitor your child’s activities on apps such as YouTube and Spotify, pause the internet on your Roku device at any time, and set different app filtering rules for different times of the day and different days of the week.
FAQS
Can I set time limits on Roku?
There’s no way to set time limits on how long your child watches a specific channel or uses your Roku device every day with Roku’s built-in parental controls. There’s an option to set a sleep timer on a Roku TV, which turns the device off after a certain amount of time, but there’s nothing that stops your child from simply waking the device up again.
If you want to limit your kid’s time on the Roku device, I recommend Bark Home. It gives you the ability to pause the internet on your Roku device when you feel like your child should take a break or be going to bed.
How do I create a parental control PIN for Roku?
It’s really simple to create a PIN for your Roku account, just follow these simple steps. Visit my.roku.com and sign into your Roku account. Under PIN Preference, select Update. Finally, click the Create PIN button. Then, make changes to your PIN preferences to restrict your child’s ability to make purchases or add channels onto your Roku device. You can also use it to filter out content on The Roku Channel.
If you have a Roku TV, you’ll be asked to create a 4-digit PIN the first time you visit its Parental Controls settings. Note that your Roku account PIN is not the same thing as your Roku TV PIN.
What’s the best parental control app for Roku?
Roku has pretty good built-in parental controls, which allow you to prevent your child from making purchases and adding channels, and set content restrictions on The Roku Channel and Roku TV.
However, for the best protection, I recommend using it alongside Bark Home, which adds the ability to monitor your child’s activities on apps like YouTube and Spotify, pause the internet on your Roku device, and set different app filtering rules for different times of the day and different days of the week.
Can I block YouTube on Roku?
Sort of Roku’s built-in parental controls don’t allow you to block YouTube specifically, but you can remove the channel and set your PIN preferences so that your child won’t be able to re-add YouTube (or add other new channels) without entering a 4-digit PIN. If you don’t want to remove the YouTube channel entirely, consider checking out Bark Home, a third-party parental control app that allows you to block the YouTube app on Roku at specific times with its scheduling feature.
