How to Block Foul Language on YouTube

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: October 25, 2022

iPhone or iPad

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Android

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Desktop

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Blocking Comments

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Q&A

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Tips

This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent the majority of foul language and mature themes from showing up on YouTube, as well as how to block offensive words or phrases from appearing in the comments on your own content. You can enable Restricted Mode anywhere you log in to YouTube to block all mature content, including profanity. If you're looking to block foul language in your own channel's comments section, you can add the words you don't want to see to your Blocked Words list.

Things You Should Know

Navigate to the settings for your YouTube account and go to the ‘Restricted Mode’ option. Toggle this on to block mature content for your account.
If you want to block comments, go to YouTube Studio’s Settings and open the Community tab.
In the Community tab, you can block words and phrases. Comments containing these will be filtered out of your videos’ comment section.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

iPhone or iPad

1
Open YouTube. It's a white app with the red YouTube symbol on it. If you're signed in to YouTube, doing so will open your YouTube Home Page.
- If you aren't signed in, tap the gray profile icon at the top-right corner and select Sign in to do so now.
2
Tap your profile picture. You'll find this in the top-right corner of the screen.
- If you haven't yet assigned yourself a profile picture, you'll instead see a person-shaped icon or the first letter of your name here.
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3
Tap Settings. It's toward the bottom of the menu.
4
Slide the "Restricted Mode" switch to On
. It's one of the options under the "YOUTUBE" header. As long as this switch is on (green), all potentially mature content, including foul language, will be blocked for this account on your iPhone or iPad.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Android

1
Open YouTube. It's a red app with a white "Play" icon on it. YouTube will open to your Home Page if you're already signed in.
- If you aren't signed in, tap the gray profile icon at the top-right corner and select Sign in to do so now.
2
Tap your profile photo. It's at the top-right corner of the screen. A menu will expand.
- If you haven't yet assigned yourself a profile picture, you'll instead see a person-shaped icon or the first letter of your name here.
3
Tap Settings. It's near the bottom of the menu.
4
Tap General. It's near the top of the menu.
5
Slide the "Restricted Mode" switch to On
. It's toward the bottom of the general menu. As long as this switch is On (blue), all potentially mature content, including foul language, will be blocked for this account on your phone or tablet.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Desktop

1
Go to https://www.youtube.com in a web browser. YouTube will open to the Home Page if you're already signed in.
- If you aren't already signed into YouTube, click Sign in in the top-right corner of the page, enter your email address and password, and click Sign in again.
2
Click your profile photo. It's at the top-right corner of the screen. A menu will expand.
- If you haven't yet assigned yourself a profile picture, you'll instead see a person-shaped icon or the first letter of your name here.
3
Click Restricted Mode. It's at the very bottom of the menu.
4
Slide the button next to "ACTIVATE RESTRICTED MODE" to On
. As long as this option is activated, you will not see explicit content, including foul language, while using this YouTube account in your browser.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Blocking Comments

1
Go to https://www.youtube.com in a web browser. YouTube will open to the Home Page if you're already signed in.
- If you aren't already signed into YouTube, click Sign in in the top-right corner of the page, enter your email address and password, and click Sign in again.
2
Click your profile picture. It's in the top-right corner of the page. A menu will expand.
- If you don't have a profile picture, you'll instead click the person-shaped silhouette or the first letter of your name here.
3
Click YouTube Studio. It's near the top of the menu.
4
Click Settings. It's near the bottom of the left panel.
- If you don't see a menu running along the left side of the screen, click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the top-left corner of the page to open it.
5
Click the Community tab. It's on the left side of the window at the bottom of the menu.
6
Type the words you wish to block in the "Blocked words" area. This field is at the bottom of the page. Any words you enter here will be filtered from the comments on your videos by default.
- When adding words to this list, place a comma and a space after each word (for example: "Banana, Microsoft, Elephants").
- If you want to enter a phrase, place a comma after the last word in the phrase to separate it from the other words/phrases in this list.
7
Click Save. It's the blue button at the bottom of the window. YouTube will now hold any comments containing the blocked words for review. The comments will not appear on your video unless you approve them manually.
- You can review and approve held comments in YouTube Studio by clicking Comments and selecting the Held for review tab at the top.^{[1]
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Community Q&A

Question

How do I choose the bad words I bleep out on YouTube?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

There are lists that can be found online, and many television stations also publish their guidelines, as do newspapers. Generally, it is clear which words need to be blocked, though. So block the obvious ones, and don't block the ones you doubt.
Question

Since YouTube has a CC transcript of each video, they have the ability to silence foul language. Why don't they do it?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

It is anyone's guess as to how YouTube decides on its policies. They are a company, and can organize themselves any way they see fit. However, one clear reason why they are not doing this is the sheer volume of videos uploaded each day. It would take thousands of people editing thousands of hours every day, which is an enormous cost.
Question

Are there any language filters so I can just block out the actual inappropriate language, but still watch the video?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

No. Use the content warnings and stay away from channels where you know people use such language. If the creator of the video did not themselves edit out these instances, there is no way to stop them from coming into your ears.