This article applies to organisations with a 'Hybrid' setup (both On-Premise Appliance and Cloud), as well as On-Premise only and Cloud only setups.
You can allow, block or set a time quota (On-Premise Appliance only) for YouTube videos. You can’t block YouTube channels, so you may want to block most of YouTube, but allow access only to specific videos.
On-Premise Appliance
Before you begin
As YouTube defaults to HTTPS, you must turn on HTTPS Decrypt and Inspect for YouTube to block content.
Block specific videos
By default, YouTube content is not blocked, so you don’t need to allow access to YouTube.
To block specific videos:
- In a Custom Category, go to Advanced > Video ID filtering and add the YouTube videos you want to block.
- Set up a Web Filter policy for your Custom Category with Block as the Action.
Block YouTube
Set up a Web Filter policy for the YouTube Category, with Block as the Action.
Block YouTube but allow specific videos
- To block YouTube, set up a Web Filter policy. Select YouTube, with Block as the Action.
- Edit the YouTube Allowed Videos and Playlists Category. Go to Advanced > Video ID filtering and add the YouTube videos you want to allow.
- Set up a Web Filter policy for the YouTube Allowed Videos and Playlists Category with Allow as the Action.
- Order the Allow policy to be above the Block policy.
Block YouTube but allow specific videos in a multi-tenant environment
- Set up a Web Filter policy in the Can be overridden table. Select YouTube, with Block as the Action.
- Set up a Web Filter policy in the Can be overridden table. Select YouTube Allowed Videos and Playlists with Allow as the Action. You do not need to add videos or playlist IDs to this category.
- Create a Custom Category with a clear name for each tenant.
- In each Custom Category, go to Advanced > Video ID filtering and add the YouTube videos you want to allow the tenant to access.
- For each tenant, set up a Web Filter policy for the tenant-specific Custom Category, with Allow as the Action.
- Order the Allow policies directly above the Block policy.
Image 1: Example Web filter policies setup in a multi-tenant environment
Time quota
You can set a Time quota to limit usage to a specific amount of time using On Premise Appliance.
Important
This feature is not available for Cloud Filter.
Time quota for all YouTube videos
Set up a Web Filter policy for YouTube, with Limit to Quota as the Action.
Time quota for specific YouTube videos
- In a Custom Category, go to Advanced > Video ID filtering and add the YouTube videos to time quota.
- Set up a Web Filter policy for your custom category with Limit to Quota as the Action.
- If you have YouTube blocked, order your Time Quota policy above your Block YouTube policy.
Cloud Filter
Important
Devices must be on Cloud Filter Extension Version 3.1.0 or higher for video filtering.
Block specific videos
By default, YouTube content is not blocked, so you don’t need to allow access to YouTube.
To block specific videos:
- In a Custom Category, add the YouTube videos you want to block to the Videos tab.
- Set up a Web Filter policy for your Custom Category with Block as the Action.
Block YouTube
Set up a Web Filter policy for the YouTube Category, with Block as the Action.
Block YouTube but allow specific videos
- To block YouTube, set up a Web Filter policy. Select YouTube, with Block as the Action.
- In a Custom Category, add the YouTube videos you want to allow to the Videos tab.
- Set up a Web Filter policy for your Custom Category with Allow as the Action.
- Order the Allow policy to be above the Block policy.
Block YouTube but allow specific videos in a multi-tenant environment
- Set up a Web Filter policy in the Can be overridden table. Select YouTube, with Block as the Action.
- Create a Custom Category with a clear name for each tenant.
- In each Custom Category, go to the Videos tab and add the YouTube videos you want to allow the tenant to access.
- For each tenant, set up a Web Filter policy for the tenant-specific Custom Category, with Allow as the Action.
- Order the Allow policies directly above the Block policy.