Xiaomi’s modern Smart TVs are powered by Android TV, which provides users with a huge opportunity to install apps and customize the interface. However, with the platform’s openness, there are also challenges, especially when it comes to controlling screen time or restricting children’s access to certain content. The question of how to block the YouTube app on a Xiaomi TV is becoming increasingly relevant for parents and those who want to digitally detox in the living room.
Unlike mobile devices, where parental controls are built deep into the system, the situation is more complicated on large screens. Android TV’s standard interface does not offer a simple “Switch off YouTube” button in the basic settings. However, there are effective ways to do this, ranging from using embedded profiles to more advanced methods through USB debugging. Understanding the operating system architecture will allow you to take control of the device into your own hands.
In this article, we will discuss in detail all available methods for restricting access to video services, we will examine both software restrictions through user profiles and technical ways to hide or remove system applications.
Use of YouTube's built-in parental controls
The easiest and least radical way to restrict access to unwanted content is to use the built-in features of the YouTube app itself, a method that doesn’t block the app from running entirely, but allows content filtering and time limits, which is often a more flexible solution for family use.
To activate these features, you need to log into your Google account on your TV or link your device to your phone. In the settings of the YouTube app on your Xiaomi TV, go to Settings → General → Restricted Mode. Activating this setting will hide videos that may not be intended for all audiences, although it is not an absolute filter.
A more effective tool is the Supervised Experience or browsing timer, and you can set up automatic logouts after the time limit has expired or require input. PIN-It creates a soft lock that disciplines without completely banning the video.
- 🔒 Restricted access mode hides adult content, but does not block the app itself.
- ⏱️ Sleep timer allows you to set a limit of viewing time in minutes or hours.
- 👨👩👧👦 Family Link allows you to manage the time of use of apps from your smartphone.
- 🔑 Pin code required to change settings or buy content within the app.
⚠️ Attention: YouTube's built-in parental controls are easily bypassed if the user knows the password from the Google account or can switch to a guest profile.
Using children’s profiles on Google accounts allows you to create an isolated environment where only your approved videos and channels are available, and this is ideal for preschoolers when you need to completely eliminate the risk of encountering inappropriate content without removing the app from the device.
Creating a separate user profile on Android TV
The Android TV operating system installed on Xiaomi TVs supports multiplayer, which means you can create a separate profile, like “Children’s,” that simply doesn’t install or display the YouTube app, one of the most elegant ways to share access without using complex code.
To implement this, go to Settings → Device → Settings → Accounts and Login. Here you can add a new profile. The new profile will not have your personal apps by default. You can simply not install YouTube in this profile, leaving it only in the password-protected administrator profile.
Switching to a child profile will make the TV interface clean, and it will be technically impossible to launch YouTube, since the app is physically absent from the user’s space, a solution ideal for situations where different family members with different access rights use the TV.
It is important to note that some Xiaomi TVs may have a stripped-down version of the interface where profile switching is difficult or hidden by the manufacturer, and in such cases it is worth checking for MIUI for TV updates, as newer versions often improve the functionality of multiplayer mode.
Hiding the application through launcher settings
If your goal is not to remove the app, but simply to remove it from a prominent place so that it does not horn your eyes or children do not launch it accidentally, you can use the launcher features. The standard launcher PatchWall or Android TV Home on Xiaomi devices allows you to manage the order and visibility of applications on the home screen.
Go to the home screen settings, usually by long pressing OK on the remote or through the Home Screen → App settings menu, and you can move YouTube to the bottom of the list or to the Hidden folder if that option is supported by your firmware version, but it's only visual masking.
For more advanced customization, you can install a third-party launcher from the Google Play store, which has more flexible application hider settings, such launchers allow you to create a whitelist of applications displayed on the screen, excluding YouTube from it.
| Method | Difficulty | Efficiency | Risk of failure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parental control | Low. | Medium | No. |
| Separate profile | Medium | Tall. | No. |
| Hiding at the launcher | Low. | Low. | No. |
| Disconnection through ADB | Tall. | Maximum | Medium. |
Using third-party launchers can affect the Google Assistant voice search or quick access buttons on Xiaomi’s remote.Before installing an alternative interface, make sure you know how to return a standard launcher if necessary.
Blocking through disabling in application settings
Android has the ability to force system applications to stop and disable. On Xiaomi TVs, this feature can be accessed directly through the settings menu, although it is often hidden for mission-critical system components. Try to go to Settings → Apps → All apps.
Find it on YouTube. If the Disable button is active, you can safely click on it, then the app will disappear from the installed list and stop running, consuming traffic or updating, it will remain in the device's memory, but will be in the "frozen" state.
If the shutdown button is inactive (gray), it means that YouTube is a system application protected from removal by conventional methods, which will require the use of more advanced tools such as ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which will be discussed in the next section.
☑️ Check before disabling the application
⚠️ Warning: Don't try to disable system processes with obscure names, even if they seem redundant. TV This can lead to a cyclical reboot of the TV.
YouTube Delete via ADB (for Advanced Users)
The most radical and effective method is the use of the ADB debugging bridge. This tool allows you to send commands directly to the Android operating system, bypassing the graphical interface, and with it you can delete or freeze the YouTube application even without the superuser rights (Root).
To start, activate the developer mode on your Xiaomi TV. Go to Settings → About TV and quickly press 7 times on Build. After you have become a developer, go to Settings → Applications → Security and Restrictions → Debugging via USB and turn it on.
Now you'll need a computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) and an installed Platform Tools package. Connect your TV and computer to the same Wi-Fi network. In the command line on your computer, type a command to connect:
adb connect 192.168.1.XX:5555Where 192.168.1.XX — it IP-The address of your TV, which can be found in the network settings. After successfully connecting, execute a command to delete (or hide for the current user):
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtubeThis command does not physically remove the application from the disk, but removes it for the main user (user 0), making it completely inaccessible. To return everything back, just execute the command: adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.youtube.
What to do if ADB is not connected?
Blocking at the router level (network method)
If you don't want to interfere with the settings of the TV itself, you can block access to YouTube servers at the level of your home router, which is effective in that the app on the TV will run, but the videos will simply not load due to the lack of a connection to the server.
Most modern routers (Keenetic, Mikrotik, ASUS Merlin firmware supports Parental Control or Filtration URL». You need to add the domains youtube.com, googlevideo.com, ytimg.com to the blacklist for IP-The address of your Xiaomi TV.
The advantage of this method is that it works on all devices on the network, if you set the rule for the entire network, or selectively if you tie the rule to the network. MAC-This also prevents the app from consuming traffic in the background.
- 🌐 Filtration DNS: Use of the DNS-Content filtering services (e.g. AdGuard Home) allow domains to be blocked at the request level.
- 🕒 Schedule: The router allows you to set the rule time, such as blocking YouTube only at night or during lessons.
- 📱 Universality: The rule will affect not only the TV, but also phones / tablets connected to Wi-Fi.
- 🛡️ Safety: The method does not require changing the settings of the TV itself, which eliminates the risk of software failures.
💡
Use the free ones. DNS-Parental control services such as AdGuard DNS OpenDNS FamilyShield to block YouTube on all devices at once by simply writing their addresses in the router settings.