Spotify Parental Controls: How to Block Explicit Songs, Podcasts and Videos for Kids

Which Spotify set-up gives which control?

Start by choosing the right type of account

Spotify now has three situations a parent is likely to meet. A managed account is a child account created and controlled from a parent’s account; Spotify describes it as being for listeners under 13 or the local equivalent, in certain markets. A regular account is what most teens use, and it can sit on a Premium Family plan where the plan manager has some extra settings. The older Spotify Kids app is a third, separate route that still has its own help page.

Managed accounts are no longer limited to Premium Family. Spotify extended them to the free, ad-supported tier in stages during 2026, reaching the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany and the Netherlands in July. On the free tier the child will still hear ads. On Premium Family, a managed account uses one of the plan’s places.

Spotify verifies that the person creating a managed account is an adult, either with a payment card or with a photo of a government ID and a selfie, depending on the route offered. Have that ready before you start, because the set-up is done on the parent’s account rather than on the child’s phone.

Spotify: Managed accounts for young listeners · Spotify: Parental guide: managed accounts and age-restricted features · Spotify Newsroom: Managed accounts extended to the free tier

Set up a managed account and its controls

On the parent’s phone: tap your profile picture, then Settings and privacy > Parental controls, and tap Create next to “Create a managed account”. You can also start from your account page on the web under Parental controls. After the account exists, return to the same Parental controls screen and choose the child’s account to change its settings.

From that screen you can switch Explicit content on or off, switch Videos and Canvas on or off, and tap Manage artists or songs to choose specific artists or songs the child will not be able to play. You can also change the account PIN, edit the child’s name or date of birth, or delete the account.

If you convert a child’s existing regular account into a managed account, Spotify warns that the child immediately loses access to some content and features, that active add-ons are cancelled, and that listening history and some personal information are deleted. There is a seven-day window to undo the change. Tell the child before you do it, so the loss of playlists or history is not a surprise.

Spotify: Setting up a managed account on Premium Family · Spotify: Managed accounts for young listeners

What a managed account already restricts

Spotify’s parental guide says explicit content, videos and Canvas are switched off automatically for managed accounts, with an option for the parent to change them. It also says podcasts and audiobooks are not available to managed accounts, and that searches and search suggestions for terms commonly associated with age-inappropriate content are prevented.

Managed accounts also have fewer social features. Spotify says they cannot use features shared with other users such as Jam, Blend and collaborative playlists, cannot by default search for playlists created by other users, have profiles that other users cannot follow or search, and cannot make in-app purchases.

These defaults reduce exposure; they do not review every song. If your child plays music in the car through your own account or a sibling’s, the managed account’s settings do not apply to that session.

Spotify: Parental guide: managed accounts and age-restricted features · Spotify: Managed accounts for young listeners

Teens on a regular account: the explicit filter

Anyone can switch explicit content off for their own account. On a phone: profile picture > Settings and privacy > Content and display > Allow Explicit Content. On desktop: profile picture > Settings > Explicit Content.

If you manage a Premium Family plan, Spotify says you can allow or block anything with an explicit tag for other members of the plan. Log in to the Premium Family page of your account on the web, choose the member, and switch Explicit content off. Spotify’s help page does not say whether a member can override that choice from their own settings, so check the teen’s app afterwards rather than assuming it is locked.

The filter depends on labels. Spotify says it tags explicit content based on information from rights-holders, blocked tracks appear greyed out and are skipped, and some explicit releases do not have a clean version. A song with mature themes but no explicit tag can still play.

Spotify: Explicit content settings

Turn off music videos, video podcasts and Canvas

Spotify groups visual content into music videos and live performances, other videos such as vertically scrolling clips and videos from creators, and Canvas, the short looping visual that plays with a song. Each can be switched off under Settings and privacy > Content and display > Videos and Canvas.

A Premium Family manager can do this for a member: profile picture > Your Premium > under Subscription, Manage > choose the member > Videos and Canvas. On the web it is under your account page > Subscription > Manage members. Spotify announced in April 2026 that these video controls apply to any account on the Family plan, not only to children under 13.

Two limits remain. Spotify says video ads cannot be turned off, and on the free, ad-supported plan Canvas visuals can still appear with audio ads.

Spotify: Video and Canvas settings · Spotify Newsroom: Video controls for families and parents

Podcasts are the biggest gap for teens

For a younger child, the managed account solves podcasts by not offering them at all. For a teen on a regular account, there is no parent setting that blocks one named podcast or show. The explicit setting only works where an episode carries an explicit tag, and that tag is not guaranteed.

Spotify’s Hide this song option lets the listener hide a track in playlists made by Spotify or by other people, but the song can still play elsewhere, and it is the teen’s own choice rather than a parent control. If a particular show worries you, the practical route is a conversation and an agreement, sometimes with you listening to an episode together, rather than relying on a filter that does not exist.

Spotify: Parental guide: managed accounts and age-restricted features · Spotify: Explicit content settings · Spotify: Hide and unhide songs

Messages and social features

Spotify’s parental guide says its messaging feature is only available to users aged 16 and over, and managed accounts have no access to Messages. A 16- or 17-year-old on a regular account may therefore be able to message other users.

The teen can switch Messages off themselves under Settings and privacy > Privacy and social > Social features. In a chat, tapping the person’s name and choosing Block user stops them. Spotify says Messages are private between participants but are not encrypted. There is no official parent-side switch for Messages on a teen’s regular account, so talk about who they share with and how to block someone.

Spotify: Parental guide: managed accounts and age-restricted features · Spotify: Messages on Spotify

A Stranger Is Messaging My Child Online — What Should I Do?

Spotify Kids, age rules and what to check next

Spotify Kids still has a help page describing a separate app for Premium Family plans, with a parent PIN and the ability to block content from playing. The same page notes that Spotify is introducing managed accounts for young listeners, so check which option is offered in your country before setting up something new.

Spotify also says some music videos are tagged 18+ by rightsholders and are unavailable to users under 18, which depends on the date of birth on the account being correct. If a child has an account with an adult birth date, none of the age-based protections can work as intended.

After any change, open the child’s app with them and play something you expect to be blocked. Settings move between app versions and countries; a quick check together shows whether the control is really on.

Spotify: Spotify Kids · Spotify: Parental guide: managed accounts and age-restricted features

What technology cannot solve

Spotify’s controls depend on explicit tags supplied by rights-holders, the age on the account and the country. They do not block untagged songs or podcasts on regular accounts, cannot remove video ads, and do not apply when a child listens through someone else’s account or another app.

Questions parents ask