Does The Roku Channel offer a strong set of parental controls?
Does The Roku Channel offer a strong set of parental controls?
We’ll let you know if you can make it safe for kids to watch The Roku Channel without supervision.
Free streaming services like The Roku Channel can be a huge help to parents who are looking for ways to keep the kids entertained without having to pay for another subscription. The Roku Channel has a large catalog, including plenty of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels and on-demand shows and movies that are specifically geared toward kids.
But it’s hard to argue that The Roku Channel also has a lot of content that’s not appropriate for kids at all, and unless the streamer offers a way to keep kids away from this content, they can access it freely. What kind of guidelines does The Roku Channel have in that regard? We’ll show you how to use parental controls on The Roku Channel here.
Everything you need to know about using parental controls on The Roku Channel
How to use Roku Channel parental controls
To turn on The Roku Channel’s parental controls, all you need to is head to the to the streamer's website. Find the profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen, and click My Account from the drop-down menu that appears when you hover your cursor over the icon.
From here, you can set your parental controls to any level you like. You can restrict content to shows and movies rated G, TV-Y, or TV-G; content rated PG, or TV-PG; or titles rated PG-13 or TV-14 if you want to keep kids from seeing anything outside those ratings boundaries.
The Roku Channel’s parental controls are quite customizable. Click to expand.
Can you create a PIN for The Roku Channel?
Having the ability to set parental controls is somewhat useless if you cannot keep those settings protected with a private password. That’s why The Roku Channel also lets you establish a PIN, which keeps kids from changing control settings or buying subscriptions to streamers you can access through The Roku Channel’s digital store.
Scroll down to PIN/Parental Controls, and confirm your identity by entering the special code sent to the email address associated with your account. From there, you can create a PIN to lock children out of renting or buying shows and movies, or subscribing to new streaming services with saved payment details.
This PIN will also be required when trying to change the parental control settings on The Roku Channel, so mischievous small hands can’t alter controls without permission and watch content they shouldn’t see.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free, ad-supported streaming service that offers a broad mix of movies, TV shows, live linear channels, and original programming. Available to all viewers — not just Roku device owners — the service features licensed content from major studios alongside Roku Originals, which include exclusive series, movies, and specials previously produced for Quibi, as well as new original projects developed specifically for the platform.