How to set per-app time limits on Google TV, and what's possible today
By The TameTV team · Updated November 3, 2026
On Google TV you can set a time limit for the whole kids profile, but not for each app. There's one daily total, and every app the kid uses draws from it. Netflix has no time limit of its own, and we couldn't find one in the YouTube TV app either.
So if you want YouTube for 30 minutes and Netflix for 90, Google TV can't split it that way today. This guide shows what you can set, app by app, and two workarounds that get you part of the way.
How to set a time limit on Google TV today
The Google TV kids profile is the only place on the TV with a real daily screen-time limit. It's available on Google TV devices, such as Chromecast with Google TV, Google TV Streamer, and Google TV sets from Hisense, Philips, Sony and TCL. It isn't on plain Android TV. It also depends on your region: it launched in the US in 2021, and Google says it may not be available in some regions or on some devices.
If you have it, here is what you can set up on the TV:
- Add a kid. On Google TV Streamer the option is called "Add a kid". Wording varies by device.
- Pick the apps. You choose which apps appear in your kid's profile. Anything you leave out isn't there.
- Set a daily screen-time limit. Choose the days, then a limit from 15 minutes to 8 hours, in 15-minute steps. Different days can have different limits.
- Set bedtime. Pick a start and end time, in 30-minute steps, on the days you choose.
- Turn on kids lock. Leaving the kids profile then needs your PIN or password.
When time is running out, the TV shows three countdown warnings, then a "Time is up" screen. You can give bonus time, which is behind your PIN or password.
Google keeps the full steps here: Google TV kids profiles. If kids profiles don't show up on your TV, our guide on Google TV kids profiles that aren't available covers why and what else you can do.
What each app lets you limit
Here's the honest state of Google TV screen time, app by app.
| Where | What you can set | Time limit per app |
|---|---|---|
| Google TV kids profile | Which apps appear, one daily total, bedtime, bonus time | No. One total for the whole profile |
| Netflix | Kids profile, maturity ratings, profile lock PIN, blocking titles, autoplay off | No |
| YouTube app on the TV | YouTube Kids profile, parent code | We couldn't find one |
| Family Link | See app activity, block or allow apps, add or remove kids-profile apps | No, and it can't change the TV's daily limit |
| Digital Wellbeing | Not available on Android TV or Google TV | No |
A few notes on that table.
Netflix. There's no way to set a time limit on Netflix on the TV. What it does offer is about content and access: a Kids profile, maturity ratings, a PIN on each profile, and blocking specific titles. Turning off autoplay is the only setting that touches how long kids watch, because the next episode no longer starts by itself.
YouTube. For a YouTube time limit on Google TV, the TV's YouTube app is not much help. The YouTube Kids phone app has a timer, but we couldn't find one in the Kids mode of the TV app. "Take a break" and bedtime reminders are documented for the mobile apps; we couldn't find them on the TV either. Our guide on limiting YouTube time on Android TV goes deeper on YouTube alone.
Family Link. Google says daily limits and bedtime for a kids profile can only be set on Google TV, not through Family Link: Family Link on Google TV. From your phone you can block or allow apps and add or remove apps from the kids profile. If an app has both a phone and a TV version, you have to block both.
Workarounds that get you part of the way
None of these give you a true per-app split. They're what parents can do today.
Use the whole-TV limit as your budget
Set the kids profile's daily limit to the total you're happy with, say 2 hours. Your kid decides how to spend it. If they burn it all on YouTube, that's the day's TV. It's simple, and it at least puts a ceiling on the day.
On a short day, allow only one app
You choose which apps appear in the profile and how long the daily limit is, and you can change both. So on a school night you could set the limit to 30 minutes and leave only YouTube in the profile. On a weekend, raise it to 2 hours and add Netflix back. Family Link lets you add or remove kids-profile apps from your phone, so you don't have to be at the TV to swap apps. The limit itself still has to be changed on the TV.
Turn off Netflix autoplay
It doesn't limit anything, but it puts a natural pause after each episode.
Use bedtime for the end of the day
Bedtime on the kids profile sets an end time on the days you choose, however much of the daily limit is left. If evenings are the hard part, our guide on bedtime schedules on Android TV covers that in more detail.
Where it falls short
Even with all of the above, a few gaps stay:
- No per-app time limit anywhere on the TV. Not in Google TV, not in Netflix, and we couldn't find one in the YouTube TV app.
- Limits are set on the TV only. You can't change the daily limit or bedtime from Family Link. If you're at work and want to give an extra 20 minutes, you can't do it from your phone.
- Rating limits don't reach inside apps. The kids profile's rating limits apply to Google's own recommendations and Family Library, not to what plays inside Netflix or YouTube.
- Plain Android TV has none of it. Kids profiles are Google TV only, and Family Link doesn't list Android TV as a supported device.
- Parents have reported problems. Around September 2025, parents reported an "Add a kid" sign-in loop on Google TV Streamer, onn 4K Pro and Android TV 14 devices; a fix was later reported. Earlier, in 2022 to 2023, parents reported that YouTube time wasn't counted toward the kids profile's daily limit. We don't know if that's still the case.
How TameTV will handle per-app limits
TameTV is in development. Per-app limits are one of its four core features. It will run on Android TV and Google TV, Android 9 and up.
- Daily budget. Each kid gets a total amount of screen time per day.
- Per-app limits. YouTube 30 minutes, Netflix 90, or whatever you decide. Time in each app counts against the kid's daily budget too, so the total still holds.
- Allowed hours. The TV works when you say and locks when you don't.
- From your phone, anywhere. Change limits, lock the TV, or add bonus time from wherever you are.
Each kid has their own limits, picked on a "who's watching?" screen. One kid can have YouTube for 30 minutes and another for an hour. New kids start with every app blocked except the ones you tick. Warnings come at 5 minutes and 1 minute before a limit, and a parent PIN overrides any of it.
Some honest limits:
- It needs Android 9 or newer.
- To lock apps on Android 10 and up, TameTV needs the Accessibility permission, which you grant during setup. Without it, it can only count time.
- Some Sony firmware refuses the Usage Access permission TameTV needs.
- It counts time per app but can't see inside YouTube or Netflix, so it won't filter videos or titles. Keep using their kids profiles and ratings for that.
- On Google TV devices, compatibility is expected, not yet confirmed. See what we expect on Chromecast with Google TV and Google TV Streamer.
For the details, read how TameTV works.
If per-app limits are what you're missing, join the waitlist.