Do you want to limit your YouTube experience? If so, you can permanently block the platform for yourself and thus reduce the time you spend on it. In fact, you can even go the extra mile and outright delete your channel. But what about limiting your experience in another way? For example, instead of blocking yourself, can you block others?
Blocking, muting, and shadow banning various content creators is fairly common on other social media. Both Instagram and Twitter have such features, so does Facebook. And while YouTube is technically also a social media website, it’s a video-sharing platform first and foremost. With that in mind, blocking a YouTuber is a process that will slightly differ from the steps on other social media mentioned above.
Luckily, you can learn all about that process in the paragraphs below. This article will help you figure out how to keep certain channels away from your feed and provide you with a little more breathing room as you browse for video content you like.
Why Would You Want (or Need) to Block Channels?
Obviously, there are various reasons behind someone wanting to block a YouTuber. By far, the most common one is safety. If you’re a parent or a legal guardian, you will want to keep your child safe from any risky content out there. And while YouTube doesn’t show outright dangerous material like murder, sexual content, or scatological videos, there are still niche topics that can be a little too much for underage children. After all, there are YouTubers who base their entire channels on covering drama, politics, horror, religion, and sensitive topics inappropriate for kids.
Of course, lots of people simply want to block channels because they don’t like the content creator, and that’s perfectly fine. YouTube’s algorithm can sometimes recommend content that you don’t like simply because one element of the channel matches something you browsed months ago. Once the platform starts doing that, it will recommend similar content to you constantly, and that can be quite annoying. Therefore, blocking the channel is the best possible option.
With all of that out of the way, let’s focus on the actual channel blocking and how it’s done.
Blocking YouTube Channels on Your Computer
Despite the popularity of smart devices, most people today still view their YouTube content on their personal computers, no matter what operating system they might be using. So, for all our Windows, Linux, and Mac readers out there, here’s how to block YouTube channels on your desktop:
- Open the YouTube main page and log in;
- Search for the channel you want to block;
- On the channel’s main page, click the About section;
- On the right, you should see a small flag icon; click on it;
- Next, you should get a prompt with four options; pick Block user;
- Click on Submit when the prompt comes up.
Blocked channel users will not appear on your feed until you unblock them. In addition, they won’t even be able to post comments under your videos or send you private messages.
Blocking on Your iPhone or iPad
Apple product users can also block YouTube channels on their smart devices. However, the channels you block here will still appear if you were to search for them. In other words, the block only prevents them from appearing in your feed.
So, let’s go over the process real quick:
- Launch the YouTube app on your device;
- Find any video of the channel you want to block;
- Do NOT click on the video itself; instead, find the three vertical dots menu icon and tap it;
- Tap the Don’t recommend channel option.
Blocking on Android and Google TV
Android device users, as well as users of Google TV, can also block YouTube channels from appearing. In fact, the process is literally the same as with Apple devices:
- Find the video;
- Tap on the three dots;
- Select Don’t recommend channel.
And as is the case with iPhones and iPads, the channels you block will still appear if you actually go out of your way to search for them. But at least your feed will be safe from unwanted content.
Blocking on Roku Devices
Nowadays, Roku devices have become extremely popular. Lots of modern homes have a streaming player or a smart TV that’s part of the Roku lineup. And just like many other modern devices, Roku can block individual YouTube channels.
The process is slightly more complex than that of smart devices, but not terribly so. Here’s how you’ll go about blocking channels via your Roku device:
- Pick and launch the YouTube app;
- Find a video of a channel you want to block;
- Highlight the video, but don’t play it;
- On your Roku remote, tap and hold the Select button;
- Wait for the slideout menu to appear on the right side of your television set;
- Choose the Not interested option;
- Tap Don’t recommend channel.
What About YouTube Kids?
As concerned parents, you might want to block certain channels, even from kid-friendly platforms such as YouTube Kids. There are two ways you can do it, either from your home screen or your watch page.
While at the home screen, you’ll want to do the following:
- Sign in to the account;
- Find a video of a channel you want to block;
- Tap More (three vertical dots menu);
- Select Block This Channel;
- When prompted, either type in the numbers that appear on the screen or your custom password.
The process is a little different when it comes to the watch page:
- Sign in;
- Find a video of the channel you want to block;
- Tap More;
- Select Block;
- A new dialog box should appear, where you need to select Block This Channel;
- Once again, select Block;
- Enter the numbers on the screen or your custom password.
Channel Still Not Blocked?
Sometimes, even after going through the process of blocking a user, you will see their videos getting recommended. If that’s the case, one of several issues may have occurred that you will want to look into.
Firstly, your app or piece of software might not be up to date. Smart TVs and certain Android devices may have an older version of the operating system installed, so we recommend that you update any bit of software that your phone prompts you to.
Next, your internet connection stability can affect what you do on the platform. For example, if it breaks during the blocking process, you might get the YouTube offline message prompt, meaning that the block hasn’t been completed in time, and you might have to do it all over again.
Finally, some lingering data may have remained in the form of cache and temporary files. Therefore, give your device a thorough cleaning and refresh it. You should be able to block videos easily afterward.
Unblocking a Channel
Interestingly enough, while you can block channels one by one, you can’t unblock them individually unless it’s on your browser. The process is roughly the reverse of blocking a channel:
- Enter YouTube;
- Find the blocked channel you want to unblock;
- Pick the flag option again;
- Click the Unblock user option;
- Confirm your selection.
The only other method you have available is to unblock them all at once. Firstly, you will need to find your My Activity page; it’s part of your Google account. Next, scroll down the left menu until you find the Other Google activity section. You should be able to see the YouTube ‘Not interested’ feedback prompt. Click on the Delete button underneath the prompt, and when asked, click on Delete again.
