Follow the numbered steps below to set up Parental Controls on Disney+. After the quick list, we discuss some of the pros and cons of the Disney+ parental controls, and at the bottom of the page we have a detailed step-by-step summary of the process to set up parental controls for your Disney+ account.

1. When logged into your Disney+ account from any device, tap on the current profile name.
2. Select Edit Profiles.
3. Choose Add Profile.
4. Next, select an image for the new profile.
5. Type in a Profile Name.
6. Toggle Kids Profile to On (this disallows PG and PG13 content for the profile).
7. Choose Save.

Note that the built-in Disney+ controls don’t prevent children from switching to a profile that enables all content. In other words, almost any school-aged child can quickly bypass the Disney+ parental controls.

We created a detailed step by step guide with screenshots at the bottom of this post to walk you through the process.

Background

Disney+ (sometimes written as Disney Plus) is the new streaming video service from Disney. If you are a fan of Disney movies and TV Shows, Pixar Movies, Star Wars, Disney Channel Originals, and National Geographic content, this service might be for you.

Disney+ offers no M-rated or R-rated content. There is nothing geared exclusively towards adults, which is a huge contrast compared to other streaming services like NetFlix or Hulu where kids can find movies and TV shows that could be considered very unsafe of inappropriate for kids. If you have a house with little ones and want a service where you kids can always find high quality and age appropriate content, Disney+ is right up your alley.

Summary of Potential Concerns

• There is intense PG and PG13 content on the Disney+ service.
• It is easy for a child to bypass Disney+ parental controls to enable PG and PG13 content by switching to a different profile.
• The Disney+ parental controls are blunt: enable or disable PG and PG13 content as a whole. You can’t enable PG content while disabling PG13 content.
• Some older content may be offensive because it predates our current era. Disney+ provides a warning for “Outdated Cultural Depictions” when those shows are selected (see below).
• There are no time limits with Disney+. If your child loves Disney content, there is nothing to keep them from binge-watching Disney on whatever device they have available.

See a more detailed discussion of the concerns below. If you want more comprehensive Parental Controls that cover laptops, tablets, and smartphones; filter the web for inappropriate or concerning content, enforce screen time limits and schedules; and provide insight into your child’s activities on the web, please consider our award-winning Net Nanny software, the most comprehensive Parental Control software available.

More Information on Outdated Cultural Depictions

The Disney+ service includes programs and movies that go back to the 1920’s. These shows are left in their original format with their original content. Some of this programming contains cultural misappropriation and depictions that were included in the original show, but Disney would never include these depictions in media created now. Disney recognizes that these depictions are not appropriate in current media and wants to ensure that viewers are aware of this.

Disney does not block the content but does present a warning message when the movie or program begins playing. The warning message states, “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.” In addition to the Outdated Cultural Depictions message presented in the top left of the screen, Disney has also included this information in the Details section of the movie or program where viewers can find a description of the show or movie.

See the screenshot of an example from the 1953 movie Peter Pan below:

Detailed Instructions to Set Parental Controls on Disney+

Disney+ does not currently reference the features as Parental Controls, but the parents can protect smaller kids from content that might not be age appropriate. It’s simple. After signing up for the service, parents should open the mobile App or login to the Disney+ web portal and select the profile icon.

(See icon in bottom right corner)

Then parents create a new profile for their child, while selecting an Avatar and entering a Name. At the bottom of this screen parents designate that this profile will be protected and only have access to content that is rated G, TV-Y, TV-Y7/Y7-FV, or TV-G. This is done by selecting the toggle to turn on “Kids Profile”.

After creating the new child profile, parents just select this profile by tapping the Avatar associated with the profile. At this point, they are automatically logged in with that profile and are protected. The new limited profile is instantly applied, limiting the videos and shows that are available to the child. The limits are based on the ratings that Disney has defined in their rating system.

Conclusion

There are some things missing with this Disney Plus Parental Control implementation, but it is still workable for most families. The first thing you will notice is that kids can still easily log out of their profile and log into the parent’s profile. This might be less important for younger children who will likely stick with their applied settings because they just auto-login and the service just works.

Secondly, parents cannot change or define what is appropriate for their child; the setting for “Kids Profile” is either on or off. This is really limited but is a great start on Parental Controls. Before you become too critical, don’t forget that ambitious kids that log out of their profile and then log in to the Parent profile will still not have access to Adult Only content because Disney doesn’t offer that on this service.

There is an additional shortcoming on the Disney+ Parental Controls feature that will definitely be concerning to parents. Disney+ lacks any time controls or schedules. Children could take their tablet to their bedroom and binge watch Disney Channel movies and TV series all night long. Luckily there is a solution for this. Net Nanny, the world leader in Parental Controls, has App Management for the Disney+ App. This means parents can create schedules and limit when kids can and cannot watch movies or shows on their Disney+ App. Net Nanny also includes in instant Pause feature, so parents can get kids off the Disney+ service when it’s time for homework, dinner or when kids have just had too much Kim Possible for the day.

In addition to App Management, Net Nanny applies settings across all devices and everywhere kids go, so kids can’t simply change to a new phone or tablet or connect to a different WiFi or LTE network to get around limits parents create.

The Disney+ streaming is a great service and provides quality media for families. The Disney Plus Parental Controls features pair perfectly with Net Nanny where more robust Parental Control features such as Screen Time Management, Pornography Blocking, Apps Management and Time Allocation all work with the Disney+ services to help keep your family protected and happy while watching great content.