A Guide to Disney+ Parental Controls: How to Set Up and Navigate for a Better Viewing Experience

Harsha

Updated: July 14, 2023

SHARE:

Disney+ has been a great addition for homes with children and adults. It contains age-appropriate content from shows, movies from Disney’s franchise, and media from its partner networks.

All shows on Disney+ cater to all ages. According to Nielsen’s Report for May and June 2021, 45% of Disney+ users are below 18. This makes children more susceptible to screen addiction while on the app. 

To solve this dilemma, Disney+ has various ways to control children’s use and viewing of the app. In this article, learn how to set up parental controls on Disney+ to promote internet safety for your children. 

Setting Up Parental Control in Disney+ and Its Benefits

The University of Rochester Medical Center states in one article that children are easily attracted to anything visually appealing. They can also be influenced by what they view – especially content from digital media. 

As a parent, this can pose problems in dealing with behavior, especially when they are constantly in front of screens.

Children can pick up undesirable behaviors and personalities through the content they absorb. This is why Android and iOs devices have parental controls to prevent unnecessary access to mature content and limit viewing times.

Disney+ is one of the few video streaming service platforms striving for a safe viewing experience. 

The benefits of setting up parental controls on streaming platforms such as Disney+ include:

• Creating a safe viewing environment for children of all ages, including teenagers.
• Controlled platform use through limited access to certain content based on ratings.
• Restrictions on account switching for children through profile codes.

Disney+ cannot control changes made using an adult account, which children and teens can access when left open. Parents should be cautious when using Disney+ and ensure they’ve set up necessary parental controls before giving access to children.

How to Set Up Parental Controls on Disney+ 

There are two main ways to set up parental controls on Disney+: creating a Kid’s Profile to limit access to mature content and adding pin codes to prevent unattended profile switching.

How to Create A Kid’s Profile

Step 1: Enter your login information by tapping “LOG IN” in the top right corner.

Step 2: Create a profile for your child by clicking “Add Profile.

Step 3: Switch on “Kid’s Profile” when creating, and click Save.

How to Set Up Pin Codes on Adult Accounts

Step 1: At the profile selection screen, click “Edit Profiles” to open the profile settings.

Step 2: Locate the parental controls tab below “Feature Settings”

Step 3: Select “Profile PIN,” enter your pin code, and click Save.

Disney+ Age Restrictions

One of the best key features of Disney+ is the application of Content Ratings available for viewing. This helps parents control the content available to children.

The platform has seven age-restricting options, ranging from 0+ to 18+. When setting up Content Ratings, the default rating will be 14+, but parents can change this according to their child’s age. 

However, the default rating on a Kid’s Profile is set to 7+ and cannot be changed.

Here’s how to add age restrictions on Disney+ profiles:

Step 1: At the profile selection screen, click on “Edit Profiles” to open profile settings.

Step 2: Locate the Parental Controls tab and click “Content Rating”

Step 3: Click the appropriate content ratings based on your child’s age, and click Save.

To understand how ratings work when selecting a rating, the subheading above will say, “Titles rated 18+ and below are available to stream for (profile name).” 

How to Manage Kids Screen Time on Disney+

Disney+ has another parental control feature. This feature is Autoplay and is more noticeable when using a Kid’s Profile. Unlike Netflix, Disney+ barred this feature on profiles set for kids.

This can be a problem for parents with children who prefer to watch short series as they constantly would need to click the next episode. However, this feature is one way for the app to implement proper screen time for children.

The feature can be turned on or off on regular profiles. To access this, here’s how:

Step 1: At the profile selection screen, click on “Edit Profiles” to view other profile settings.

Step 2: Locate the Playback and Language Settings tab and click on “Autoplay”. The “Autoplay” feature is “ON” if the slider button is blue. Click it to turn it off or on.

How to Prevent and Protect Kids from Inappropriate Content on Disney+

Disney+ prioritized children as its major viewers since its start and made sure the platform was safe for all ages. As they partnered with National Geographic, Marvel, Star Wars, and Star, their material changed from kid-friendly to mature.

To mediate this, there are two more features on Disney+ to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content.

How to Activate Kidproof Exit Option

Step 1: On the profile selection, click on “Edit Profiles” and select your child’s “Kid’s Profile”.

Step 2: Click on the “Junior Mode” switch to turn it on. It will change into blue when activated. Click save.

Once activated, a pop-up will ask for a simple passcode shown as words on the screen. This will prevent children below reading age to exit their accounts.

How to Set Up Profile Creation Restrictions

To prevent teens and children from setting up new accounts with no restrictions, parents can toggle restrictions in profile creations. Here are the steps to do this:

Step 1: Click on your profile photo on the upper right side of the screen and click on “Account”

Step 2: Scroll down to the Settings or Parental Controls tab and click on the slider beside “Restrict Profile Creation”.

Step 3: Enter your password to confirm the details. Click on Save. Profile Creations from this on will require a password.

To prevent children from bypassing these controls, ensure to hide your account details in a safe place and prevent them from knowing your passwords.

Other Ways To Control Children’s Access Within and Outside Disney+

Disney+ already offered what it could to make its service safe for parents and children. However, kids can still access other materials that are inappropriate whether in or outside the app. 

When not carefully monitored, children may access to following harmful material:

• Sexualized content from mature shows
• Hyper-realistic gore or blood effects 
• Violence, cyberbullying, and abuse
• Online predators and predatory relationships
• Possibility of child identity theft from fraudulent websites

To prevent these, there are several third-party spy apps to monitor children’s activity online. We recommend these credible parental control apps for parents:

1. mSpy

mSpy is an excellent parental control tool for children or teens with cell phones and can view phone activities, whether within Disney+ or other apps. This program can also view online activities, apps used, wifi networks accessed, keystrokes, to browsing history. mSpy has been ranked as one of the top spy apps for parents today and we highly recommend this for parents who need to carefully monitor their children.

To use this tool, parents must install mSpy on their child’s phone and create an account.

Step 1: Register for a free account on mSpy.com through the Demo or Try Now tab.

Step 2: Enter your email and choose a subscription plan. Once done, verify your email and Log in to the website.

Step 3: Choose a language and set up a monitored device.

Step 4: Select a device and follow the string of instructions based on the device you want to monitor. Android and iOS have varying ways of installation. The site will provide video instructions for a better installation.

Step 5: Install mSpy on the child’s cellphone and allow the program access to all the apps and check the permissions to fully gain control of the phone’s features and contents.

Step 6: Log into your mSpy account to allow the program to gather data. You have the option to set the app as Undetectable on the phone or set it up as an app with a different name to prevent the child from uninstalling it.

Step 7: You can now keep track of your child’s internet behavior.

mSpy is a useful tool for parents; its benefits and features outweigh its subscription plans. But for parents who want to safeguard their children, the app’s payment plans won’t be a problem.

2. eyeZy

Another helpful parental control tool is eyeZy. This spy app can monitor geolocation, social media activity, phone activity and usage, and other activities done on mobile. It’s also available on all smartphones. To install and access eyeZy, here are simple steps to do so:

Step 1: Go to eyezy.com and click the Get Now or Try Now buttons.

Step 2: Create an account using your email address and choose a package plan based on your needs. eyeZy will send your login information to your email. Use this detail to log in to your account.  

Step 3: After logging in, your dashboard will display language selection, followed by Set Up a Monitored Device.

Step 4: Click Get Started and choose a device. eyeZy and mSpy have the same installation instructions, but the former has other features to access Twitter and a mobile app for parents.

Step 5: Follow the instructions and install the application on your child’s phone. Allow the app access to all applications, settings, and permissions to integrate eyeZy’s features fully.

Step 6: You can now access your child’s phone and monitor their device’s activity.

3. Umobix

This app is another great tracker for parents. It provides them with a comprehensive monitoring and tracker both offline and online. It’s also available on various devices such as mobiles and tablets.

Step 1: Go to umobix.com and click Try Now. Enter your credentials and choose a subscription based on your needs. 

Step 2: Sign in to your account. This will directly lead to your account dashboard.

Step 3: Select the target device you want to monitor.

Step 4: Umobix will give a string of requirements in order to install their application.

Step 5: Download and install the application using your child’s phone.

Step 6: Open the app to set up the application. Enable Keylogger Tracking, Play Services, and set up automatically.

Step 7: Allow the app to fully integrate into the phone and let it load. Once done, Umobix is fully installed and ready for use.

Takeaway

As parents, it’s our job to protect our children away from harm. But no matter how much precaution and prevention we take, children will always be curious and continuously explore limits and boundaries. 

Disney+ is one of the rare platforms that is child-centric and provides parents with features to use their platform safely.

If we cannot prevent them from accessing content, the best way to deal with this is to talk with them about the dangers of inappropriate and mature content. Parents should also exhibit good examples to children with the proper and safe use of these sites.

Legal and Ethical Note – This article is mainly written from a parent’s point of view. As worried parents, we want to ensure our kids are always safe. However, checking or using spy apps to monitor and view people’s mobile phones and information might be legally restricted in other locations. We do not encourage anyone to do any ILLEGAL activity about the applications mentioned. Before using the suggested apps or websites, ensure that it is legally allowed in your country.