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A YouTube Whitelist for Trusted Channels

A whitelist (allowlist) means YouTube starts closed. You open it only for channels you or Unbinge’s reviewers have allowed. That is the opposite of watching everything and trying to block leftovers.

What is a YouTube whitelist?

Blocklist: allow the whole site, then hide or skip what you dislike. New videos still appear until you catch them.

Whitelist: deny by default. Only listed channels play. Unbinge uses this model when Education Mode is on. Watch, channel, embed (including youtube-nocookie iframes on other sites), and live URLs are checked against that list. On Kids and Teens, Home, Search, and other browse pages are blocked so unapproved titles never appear. Adult/Parent can still open Home and Search. Subscriptions is allowed on every profile; clicking a video is still checked.

Why use a whitelist?

Recommendations keep inventing new things to watch. A channel list is smaller and easier to reason about: “these science and maths channels, plus one we added for this class.” It is still not a promise that every upload on those channels is right for every viewer. Channels change; parents and teachers should still glance at what is playing.

How Unbinge’s whitelist works

Global approved list

Unbinge syncs a shared list of channels that have been reviewed for educational use. Age profiles (Kids, Teens, Adult/Parent) receive different slices of that list. The list refreshes when you change profile, when you tap Sync in the popup, and weekly in the background. Steps are on the get started page.

Local approval

Paste a channel link in the extension to allow it on this device immediately. That request is also sent for global review. It does not instantly give every Unbinge user a blue verified badge — that appears only after the team approves it globally.

Submit without the extension

Anyone can send a channel or video for global review on this website. That does not unlock the channel in your browser until you install Unbinge and approve it locally or wait for a global listing.

Who it’s useful for

Parents who want a short list instead of chasing every new Short. Students and teachers who already have a curriculum channel set. Families sharing a computer: use Kids or Teens on the child’s profile and Adult on yours. Combine with distraction filters if the player UI is still noisy on allowed channels.

Related features

Can I choose which channels are allowed?

Yes, on your device: add a channel in the popup. Globally, anyone can request a channel; Unbinge staff decide what enters the shared list. An approved channel is not a guarantee that every video is suitable for every child.

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