YouTube Comment Visibility by Account Type
Comment visibility on YouTube varies significantly by account type and viewing context. There is no single universal "hide comments" setting in YouTube's native controls.
Summary
YouTube Kids never shows comments. Supervised YouTube accounts show comments on most videos (some restrictions at the Explore content level). Regular YouTube always shows comments. The only way to universally hide comments on regular YouTube is through a third-party tool like WhitelistVideo, which provides a dedicated Hide Comments toggle.
Comment visibility matrix
| Account/Platform | Comments visible? | Parent can hide? |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Kids | Never | N/A — always hidden |
| Supervised (Explore level) | Restricted on some videos | No toggle |
| Supervised (Explore More / Most) | Yes | No toggle |
| Regular YouTube | Yes | No native toggle |
| WhitelistVideo | Parent choice | Yes — Hide Comments toggle |
Why comments matter for child safety
- Comments can contain profanity, harassment, and inappropriate content
- Predatory comments targeting children exist even on "kid-friendly" videos
- Spam comments may link to malware or inappropriate sites
- Comment sections can contain spoilers, arguments, and distressing content
- YouTube's comment moderation is imperfect and content-creator-dependent
WhitelistVideo Hide Comments
WhitelistVideo's Hide Comments toggle removes the entire comment section from all videos in the protected experience. It works at the browser/app rendering layer — the comments simply don't appear on the page. This applies to all videos regardless of channel, content type, or account. Requires Basic or Premium plan.
Sources
Sources verified August 2026.