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Watchly documentation

Everything you need to set Watchly up and run it day to day. If you are starting from scratch, the quick start covers the whole first run in about ten minutes.

Getting started

Create your account, add profiles, and get a child watching.

Quick start: set up Watchly in about ten minutes

Account, first child profile, first library, first time limit — the whole first run.

Creating and managing child profiles

Add a profile, pick an avatar, set a birth year — and what each profile owns.

How child PINs work

Setting and resetting PINs, guest PINs, and the lockout behaviour.

Building the library

Add videos and channels, start from a ready-made set, and handle requests.

Adding videos, channels, and playlists

Add by video, channel, or playlist, and which to use when.

Starting from a pre-built library

Adopt a ready-made library by age and topic, then edit it.

When your child asks for a video

The “Ask a parent” flow and your approval queue.

Parental controls

Time limits, the content filter, supervised search, and watch history.

Time limits, breaks, and viewing windows

Daily caps, intermission breaks, viewing windows, and remote pause.

How the AI content filter works

Transcript screening across 21 patterns, and how to tune it per child.

Supervised search (optional)

The opt-in mode that lets older children search, with screening.

Reading the watch history

What is recorded, who can see it, and how to use it well.

Pairing with device controls

Set up the operating system’s own parental controls alongside Watchly — the device half of the job.

Why Watchly has no device agent — and what to pair it with

The trade behind running in the browser, and how to cover the other half.

Windows: child account and Microsoft Family Safety

Child account, screen time, app limits, and web filtering on Windows.

Mac: child Apple ID and Screen Time

Child Apple ID, Family Sharing, and Screen Time on macOS.

iPad and iPhone: Screen Time restrictions

Screen Time, allowed apps, web limits, and downtime on iOS.

Android: Family Link device setup

Supervised account, app approval, limits, and bedtime on Android.

Chromebook: supervised account setup

Supervised account, guest browsing, and the school-device difference.

Devices

What Watchly runs on, and how to set it up on a screen your child uses.

Devices and browsers

What it runs on, adding it to a home screen, and TV browsers.

Account & billing

Trial, subscription, and fixes for the problems that come up most.

Trial, subscription, and billing

The card-free trial, plan changes, invoices, and cancelling.

Troubleshooting common problems

Playback failures, missing content, PIN lockouts, and limit oddities.

Try it with your own kids

The free trial needs no card, and nothing installs — build a library, set a limit, and hand the device over.

Start Free Trial See how it works