This article describes how to allow access to specific YouTube videos, while YouTube in general remains blocked. Allowing individual videos for YouTube can be time-consuming and tedious finding, then listing each video's URL in a category.
- This will not work if the content modification 'Youtube restricted mode' is enabled.
- This is most appropriate for customers who do not use GSuite for education.
Procedure
- Create a new Decrypt and Inspect HTTPS inspection policy with the YouTube category and these settings, see our help topic, Creating HTTPS inspection policies:
- Who: "Everyone, or the relevant user or groups to apply this policy to."
- What: "YouTube"
- Where: "Everywhere, or the relevant location to apply this policy to."
- When: "Always, or the relevant time slot to apply this policy to."
- Action: "Decrypt and Inspect"
- For each video that you want to allow access to, retrieve the URL. For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPI0bCXiF3U.
- Create a new custom category with these settings, see our help topic, Creating custom categories:
- Domain / URL filtering:
- s.youtube.com
- googlevideo.com
- youtube.com/crossdomain.xml
- ytimg.com/yt
- i.ytimg.com
- ytimg.com/crossdomain.xml
- s.ytimg.com
- c.youtube.com
- youtube.com/s/player
- youtube.com/yts
- youtube.com/api
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPI0bCXiF3U (Insert all video URLs you want to allow here)
- To allow embedded videos use the embedded video link, eg: https://www.youtube.com/embed/mPI0bCXiF3U
- To allow YouTube Playlists, use the playlists video link, eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJR5p_aHh0c&list=PL9t6_hQVM325ZdXQ4pqS6Mjsuau3NDCr-
- For playlist you must also add in Domain/URL Filtering: youtube.com/s/player & in URL Patterns, the code for the playlist, for example, above would be: &list=PL9t6_hQVM325ZdXQ4pqS6Mjsuau3NDCr-
- Advanced
- URL patterns:
- cache[0-9]\.c\.youtube\.com
- URL patterns:
- Domain / URL filtering:
- Once you have created the category, create an allow web filtering policy with these settings for the group required, see our help topic, Creating web filter policies:
- Who: "Everyone, or the relevant user or groups to apply this policy to."
- What: "The custom category that you created."
- Where: "Everywhere, or the relevant location to apply this policy to."
- When: "Always, or the relevant time slot to apply this policy to."
- Action: "Allow"