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Netflix has a parental control problem.
you might create “Kids” profiles, but kids can easily escape them.
Netflix’s parental controls need to be better.
Update: Since we originally wrote this article in August 2019,Netflix has added expanded parental controls.
you might nowlock adult Netflix profiles with a PIN, too.
And setting your young children up with a kid’s profile should keep them from seeing the mature shows.
It should, but it won’t.
Unfortunately, with Netflix’s current system, your child can switch to your profile anytime he wants.
That’s why Netflix calls these “soft controls.”
Netflix doesn’t lock kids into their profiles.
“Parental security” that relies on the innocence and honesty of a child isn’t security at all.
Unfortunately, right now, it’s possible for you to’t keep them out of your profile.
But even that is problematic because the PIN system is counterintuitive and doesn’t block everything.
You access Netflix’s parental control PIN system from account configs.
Any change you make applies to every profile.
The first problem, though, is that the PIN system is counterintuitive.
To pull up the parental controls, you have to go to Netflix’s website.
it’s possible for you to’t access it from an iPad, smartphone, or any other gear.
If you try, the app points you to the site.
When you dive into the parental controls, the first step is to provide a four-digit PIN.
If you don’t feel comfortable handing out your debit card PIN, don’t use that.
If you move the bar all the way to the right for maturity, that’s not correct.
If the green bar is full, parental controls are off.
Thankfully, you’re free to also specify specific shows to block.
You might have to if a newer episode is rated higher than the previous one.
This sometimes includes racy images from mature shows you might not want to your children to see.
But Netflix doesn’t allow any distinction.
When you set a maturity level, it applies to every profile.
Unfortunately, these cumbersome options only work well for one-child families.
Netflix Should Add PIN-Restricted Profiles
All these problems are solvable with a single solution.
Currently, to reach the parental controls, you have to provide the account password.
That’s perfect and should stay as is.
Susie just turned 15, so her profile can graduate to “teen.”
Anyone set to a Kids profile with a low maturity rating doesn’t need a PIN.
But you could optionally give a PIN to your teenager, so the younger siblings can’t gain access.
And each adult profile can have its own PIN.
To override maturity parameters on an on-off basis, you could use an approved adult PIN.
The current rules concerning re-entering a PIN after a rating switch would still apply.
By moving away from account-wide controls to profile-wide controls, Netflix would exchange a blunt hammer for a scalpel.
