Disturbing content and adult comments on children's YouTube
Autoplay can carry a young child from familiar shows into look-alike content that is not for children, and comment threads under videos of children are used to make contact.
- Most relevant to:
- Ages 5–8, 9–12
- Commonly reported on:
- YouTube
- Published:
- Last reviewed:
Start here: Use YouTube Kids with content settings, or supervised accounts.
What is happening
- Comment sections and 'recommended' rabbit holes can expose young children to disturbing look-alike 'kids' content.
- Predators have used comments to contact children or signal timestamps in videos.
- Autoplay keeps pulling up the next video without supervision.
Why it matters
Potential impact: A 5–12-year-old alone with autoplay is served disturbing look-alike 'kids' content, and adults use the comment thread to contact the child directly or to flag timestamps in videos of children.
Recommended next step: For awareness. Useful context; no immediate action is suggested.
What to watch for
- A very young child on standard YouTube rather than YouTube Kids.
- Disturbing recommended videos, or strangers commenting and replying.
- Long, unsupervised autoplay sessions.
What parents can do
- Use YouTube Kids with content settings, or supervised accounts.
- Turn off autoplay and disable comments for younger children.
- Co-view and curate a set of trusted channels.
Start the conversation
“If a video ever gets weird or scary, you can just say 'that one was weird' and I'll come and sit with you. You won't lose the tablet for telling me.”
Say it in your own words, before anything has gone wrong. A child who has heard this once already knows where to go the day it matters.
In the news
Independent reporting on this topic from established news organizations. Press play to watch in place; links are re-verified on a schedule, so a clip that is taken down is flagged and removed.
- For awareness — Useful context; no immediate action is suggested.BBC News
The disturbing YouTube videos that are tricking children
Sources and evidence
Evidence: Confirmed. Corroborated by two or more independent organizations — safety bodies, regulators, researchers, or established newsrooms. Last reviewed
If this is happening now
- Switch to YouTube Kids or a supervised account, and turn autoplay off.
- Report the video and the comment, and block the channel. Comments on videos of children can be disabled on your own uploads.
- If an adult has contacted your child directly, screenshot it and report to the NCMEC CyberTipline.
- Sit with the child and let them describe what they saw. Naming it out loud is what takes the charge out of it.
If a child is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. To report online exploitation, use the NCMEC CyberTipline, or Take It Down to get an image removed.
Get the signal without the noise
One concise briefing when something meaningfully changes — what happened, who it may affect, and one practical next step. See a sample issue.