YouTube now lets parents keep tabs on their teen’s channel

YouTube is rolling out its new supervision feature globally this week that enables parents and guardians to link their accounts to the accounts of their teenage children. Doing so, according to YouTube, will help parents be more aware of their teen's activity and encourage safe practices around content creation on the platform. Google first teased the feature last month.

The accounts can be linked within YouTube's Family Center, allowing parents to see shared insights such as subscriptions, comments, and how many uploads their child has made. Email notifications will also be sent out to both linked accounts to flag notable activity, such as when the teen uploads a new video or starts a livestream.

YouTube calls this the "first iteration" that builds on existing supervision tools for preteens' accounts and that additional features may be added to provide further insights into teenagers' activity. YouTube also says the feature provides "mutual control" - meaning teens or parents will both have the ability to turn off supervision at any time.