6 ways to watch YouTube Safely (or safer).
YouTube is, undoubtedly, a useful tool for homeschool. Whether it's a history documentary on The Panama Canal or footage of Yo-Yo-Ma's performance for The Kennedy Center Honors, YouTube is a staple for cultural and educational footage at our house.
So... how do we get past the ads, recommended videos, comment feed and nasty content waiting sneakily in the proverbial shadows? Covert Ops of the utmost importance, my friends. Ok, that's not ENTIRELY
accurate. There's nothing "covert" about these tools, but I always wanted to say that in a blog post.
First, let's take a look at their site's tools. YouTube has a "safe search" called restricted mode. I put that in quotations because although it removes certain things (such as violence and some material not suitable for children) it isn't anywhere near as specific (or conservative) enough for my liking. You must have an account to enable restricted mode. That being said, PLEASE use it if you are viewing directly from the site. It also blocks the comment feed (Yay)!
To turn it on, simply scroll down to the bottom left any video page and click the "enable restricted mode" button. Next, you want to lock it on your browser. That means your preferences are saved and cannot be changed without password credentials. This option is found just under the "restricted mode" button. You will be prompted to enter your password- and DON'T log out. Once you log out, your preferences shut off. Watching in "full screen mode" will hide any recommended videos while the current one plays. Finally, turning off "auto-play" "up next" will prevent the upcoming recommended video from starting when you finish the current one.
For an extra safeguard, I like using Ad Blocker Plus for my browser too. I haven't had much success with getting rid of the ads embedded in the videos, but it really clears up the ones on the page itself. We still have an adult present or at least within line of site with these options.
Iboss Clean YouTube search. This one allows you to search YouTube directly and watch without ads, a comment feed, auto-play OR recommended videos, but I recommend an adult be present. The reason being, this option still allows you to search for whatever you want and will display multiple results. The number displayed can be adjusted in settings. There is no logging in here, so it's a good, quick option but it won't save your preferences.
A new breed of video viewing safety has been popping up the over the last few years or so. People and companies are wanting to share videos in a clean platform, minus the distractions. This method requires finding the desired video, then a quick copy and paste to any of the following options and, voila, you have a MUCH cleaner viewing experience. Again, not perfect (you can still search for whatever you want) but we'll walk through them. Sunnier, video viewing days are ahead, I promise! I suggest a short cut or quick link for these to make them more user friendly.
SafeYouTube.net is feature rich. After you copy and paste your link, there are a lot of options options here. Yes, you get to watch JUST the video and see nothing else from the YouTube page.Then change the name of the link, shorten the video down to the clip you actually want, and use buttons such as auto play, share and download. Did I just say DOWNLOAD??? Woohoo!
ViewPure doesn't have as many options as SafeYouTube (it does still create a blank background with nothing to see but your video) but it has one VERY special one that none of the others do. A "purify button!" Simply drag the purify button link to your bookmarks or favorites list, then when you visit YouTube, click the link and it will automatically "purify" the video page you were on! We get to override the yuckiness AND use a cozy, spiritual word at the same time. Cool, right?
Safeshare.tv provides a similar service as the above two options, with two special features. It works for Vimeo clips and...drum roll, please... NO ADS IN THE VIDEO! I'm not exactly sure how they perform this small miracle, but I love it! Again, you get an all new URL (link name) that can be safely shared without those people needing to actually visit YouTube to view it.Their site also allows video shortening. This is amazing stuff!
Do you have a favorite of the sites listed here or any clean YouTube hacks of your own? If so, drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you!