Building the library
Adding videos, channels, and playlists
In short
Paste any YouTube URL into the parent dashboard to add it to a child’s library. A video URL adds one video, a channel URL adds that channel’s videos, and a playlist URL adds the playlist. Everything added is screened by the content filter before it appears on the child screen.
The three ways to add content
All three start the same way: copy a URL from YouTube and paste it into the add field on the child’s library page. What you paste determines what you get.
- A single video
- Paste a video URL to add exactly that video and nothing else. This is the most precise option and the right one for a channel you do not trust wholesale — a good documentary from a channel that is otherwise too old for your child, for example.
- A whole channel
- Paste a channel URL to bring in that channel’s videos. Best for creators you have watched enough of to trust across the board. New uploads still pass through the content filter, so a creator changing register surfaces for review rather than appearing silently.
- A playlist
- Paste a playlist URL to add that playlist. Useful for a series — a maths course, a specific show from a channel that also makes other things, or a creator’s own "for younger viewers" collection.
Which one to choose
The practical rule is to match the granularity to how much you trust the source. A channel that makes one kind of thing consistently — a preschool music channel, a science explainer channel — is worth adding wholesale, because the ongoing maintenance is zero and the filter covers the drift risk.
A channel that makes a wide range of content at different maturity levels is better added by playlist or by individual video. Plenty of large educational channels have a mix of material aimed at eight-year-olds and material aimed at adults; adding the whole channel to a young child’s library brings in both.
Individual videos are worth using freely rather than treating as a last resort. A library of forty hand-picked videos is a completely reasonable setup for a young child and is often better than three broad channels, because you have actually seen every item in it.
You can mix all three in one library, and most families do. There is no ordering or structure to maintain — the library is a flat set that your child browses.
What happens after you add something
Each video is screened against the content filter before it becomes available on the child screen. Depending on your settings for that profile, a video that matches a concern either blocks outright or appears in your review queue with the reason it was flagged.
For a single video this is close to instant. For a channel or a long playlist it takes longer, because every video is being fetched and analysed — larger additions are processed in the background and fill in progressively rather than appearing all at once.
You can always see what was added, what was flagged, and why, from the library view. Nothing is filtered silently: if the filter held something back, it is visible to you along with the pattern that triggered it, and you can override the decision.
Removing and editing
Anything in a library can be removed, and removal takes effect immediately on any device the child is currently using. Removing a video from one child’s library never affects a sibling’s, even when both had the same video.
Removing a channel removes its videos from that library, but individually added videos from the same channel stay. This is intentional: if you added one specific video before adding the whole channel, you presumably wanted that one video regardless.
There is no archive or trash — removal is immediate and permanent for that library. Re-adding the same URL later restores it, so nothing is genuinely lost, but the removal itself is not a soft delete.
Common questions
Can I add a whole channel and exclude some of its videos?
Yes. Add the channel, then remove the individual videos you do not want. The exclusions persist as the channel adds new uploads — removing a video does not get undone by a later refresh of the channel.
What happens when a channel I added uploads something new?
The new video is screened against the content filter for that profile before it becomes available. If it matches a pattern you have set to block, it does not appear. If it matches one you have set to flag, it appears in your review queue with the reason. If it is clean, it joins the library.
Is there a limit on library size?
Not one you are likely to reach. Libraries with several hundred videos work fine, and older children’s libraries often get that large. If anything, the practical limit is browsability — very large libraries are harder for a young child to navigate, which is what the video-release and rotation settings are for.
Can I add a video that is age-restricted on YouTube?
Age-restricted videos cannot be embedded, so they cannot play inside Watchly regardless of your settings. This is a YouTube platform restriction rather than a Watchly one, and it applies to any embedded player.
Does adding a channel use up my YouTube quota or slow things down?
Large channel additions are processed in the background and fill in progressively, so the interface stays responsive. You do not need to keep the page open while it completes.
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Try it with your own kids
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