How to Stop Netflix from AutoPreviewing Inappropriate Kids Shows
Parental controls were not a big thing in my household growing up. Both of my parents had acted in iconic horror films—Jaws and The Last House on the Left—and as such, didn't have much of an argument when I wanted to watch R-rated content. Now, as the parent of a 3-year-old, I'd like to shield my son a little more. The problem? Netflix seems insistent on showing him things I'd prefer my toddler not see.
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The problem began when Netflix started autoplaying shows during browsing. As soon as that "feature" launched, it began autoplaying cartoons and movies full of guns and violence—Marvel superhero stuff, Transformers, teen dramas. Sure, it wasn't Last House on the Left, but my sponge of a son still saw enough footage of shots fired on Netflix to start playing make-believe guns at daycare. And no matter how frantically I scrolled down to his "Continue Watching" list, he always caught something. I thought there was nothing to do but panic. I was wrong—it just took navigating Netflix's labyrinthine settings to stop it.
Lots of people find the fact that Netflix autoplays trailers during browsing quite annoying—just Google "How to stop Netflix autoplay previews" and you'll see many angry Reddit threads, Change.org petitions, and pained forums on the topic. But Netflix's attempt to surface good, often Netflix original, shows you might otherwise miss, isn't going anywhere. The streaming service's data apparently shows the autoplay trailers work—they get us to watch more shows, and give Netflix more control over what we watch. Hence, users are stuck with them.
How to Control What Autoplays for Your Kids
But using Netflix's default settings means your young kid still might see things you don't want them to—even when you're using a "Kids" account. Originally, my son's father and I erroneously assumed that a Kids profile would protect him from seeing anything even moderately mature in nature. Not so. The defaults for those accounts show content appropriate for kids 12 and under. For a long time we combatted this by searching for our son's favorite shows directly, convinced there was no other option.
But it turns out we were making our lives unnecessarily difficult. Netflix does give you the ability to customize age-level in profiles—it's just not immediately obvious how to do it. Though the Kids profiles default to allow content for older kids, it's possible to change that. If you're watching via a smart TV, Apple TV, or Roku, you won't be able to customize it beyond just turning on "For Kids," but log into your account from a computer and you can get more granular. When you're faced with the profiles you’ve set up, hit "Manage Profiles," then pick the one you want to use for your young kid. Click on the pencil icon, and you’ll get a screen where you can change the name, language, and the allowed movies and TV shows. By default, even if you're in the Kids profile, that last setting will be set to 12 and under, but you can click it and pick "For Little Kids only." You can also do this by going to your account page, inputting your password, and clicking on "Parental Controls."
When I did this, poof, all the questionable violent and romantic tween content disappeared, and all that was left on my son's profile page were shows that appear to me to be appropriate for his age. Netflix still, frustratingly, autoplays previews of shows as you scroll past them, which means that my son's favorite show—PJ Masks—grabs his attention before I have a chance to get past it to find something I detest less. But it's much better than it was before, and results in far less finger guns.
It's even possible to get more granular than that. If you have a specific show that you don’t want your child to be able to watch, you can set up a rule under Parental Controls that requires a PIN to play those titles—even if Netflix has deemed them age-appropriate. Doing so not only makes sure the title won't play without being unlocked, it also means the preview won't autoplay while you browse. My son was attacked by a pit bull earlier this year (he's OK now, but it was horrific, as you can imagine) and afterward he was traumatized whenever he saw dogs or scary animals, even cartoon ones. Had I known about the PIN option then, I would have gone through and put a code on movies like The Secret Life of Pets, which constantly upset him.
Now if only Netflix would stop that autoplay for everything else.