At long last, Youtube Music is coming to supervised Google Family Link accounts

First discovered via an email sent out to a Google Family Link user on Reddit, Google’s popular music streaming service, Youtube Music, is finally becoming available to supervised accounts! In the email, Team Youtube states that every child is unique and it works hard to provide parents and caregivers with options that support the individual needs of families.

“In the coming weeks” (Google’s favorite indistinct phrase), Youtube Music will be accessible on Android, iOS, and via the Youtube Music progressive web app on desktops and Chromebooks to accounts that are signed in, but controlled by a Family Link parent or manager.

Google states that many users have been asking for access to the service, and furthermore, many users have expressed disappointment in the restrictions that exist on supervised accounts. Of course, Family Link is nowhere as restrictive as it used to be back when it was launched. At the time, kids couldn’t even use Chrome extensions or standard Youtube, but much of that has changed. In fact, the company even provides a tailored version of Youtube for tweens and teenagers who are sick of seeing Youtube Kids content.

Once it becomes officially available, Youtube Music will be manageable via the Family Link app or via the Google Families website. Any videos or music available to child accounts on Youtube, Youtube Kids, and Youtube Music are determined by your choice of content settings and can be reviewed in either location by signing into the managing account (likely the parent!).

Anyone who has used Family Link in the past will be pretty familiar with this process, and also with the fact that Google’s content filtering and flagging system is not perfect. This means that any time you see or hear something that’s not appropriate for your kids, you must continue to do your part to be the final authority on whether or not it’s handled properly on their behalf. As always, flagging and reporting sensitive content does improve the system, but it takes time and it’s ever-changing.