As a busy entrepreneur, staying focused is key to your productivity and success when researching trends or taking a quick break to recharge. But we‘ve all had our YouTube viewing unexpectedly interrupted by accidental swipes and taps. By locking your YouTube screen, you can avoid losing your place and focus on the content.
In this post, I‘ll share methods tailored to entrepreneurs for locking YouTube on both mobile and desktop, grounded in my own experience managing teams and safeguarding productivity. Let‘s dive in!
Step-by-Step Guide: Locking YouTube on Mobile
Unwanted mobile interactions during YouTube viewing can severely damage productivity. A survey by Statista found over 90% of entrepreneurs use YouTube for business research and updates. Losing your place could mean losing key insights!
Based on my experience, here are detailed steps for Android and iPhone:
Lock YouTube on Android mobiles
- Open Settings and navigate to Security > Advanced > Screen pinning
- Toggle "Screen pinning" on
- Open the YouTube app
- Tap Recent Apps and scroll to YouTube
- Tap the pin icon next to YouTube to lock it down!
To unpin YouTube, touch and hold Back and Recent Apps simultaneously.
Lock YouTube on iPhone
- Open YouTube and start a video
- Triple click the Home button to launch Guided Access
- Draw circles around areas to disable touches
- Tap Start to activate the lock
- Create a passcode to unlock the screen later
Repeat step 2 and enter passcode to reopen use of the screen.
[insert screenshot of Guided Access]By using the mobile OS locks, you can avoid losing your place from errant screen presses during important research or brief breaks.
Recommended YouTube Locking Tools
In addition to built-in options, I recommend these handy tools for entrepreneurs:
- YouTube Nonstop browser extension (Chrome/Firefox) – Stops suggested videos auto-playing after current video ends
- Video Lock: Magic Key (iOS/Android) – Use an on-screen "magic key" to lock videos and block other apps
These provide additional protection beyond the native phone locks. I personally use YouTube Nonstop to stay focused on market research, uninterrupted by algorithm suggestions.
Risks of an Unsecured YouTube Screen
Without locking down your YouTube screen around children, inappropriate videos can slip through, leading to tough questions you may not be ready to answer. YouTube Kids still requires vigilant monitoring.
Inappropriate content isn‘t the only risk. As an entrepreneur and parent, I also worry about:
- In-app purchases: Kids may not understand the consequences of those tempting virtual toy purchases. Apple refunded parents over $26 million between 2017-2021 for unauthorized App Store purchases by children.
- Revenue loss from interrupted ads: YouTube ads accounted for $28.8 billion in global revenue in 2021. Interruptions decrease impressions.
By locking your YouTube screen when productivity or oversight matters, you can avoid problems for both personal and business use cases.
Final Tips for Entrepreneurs
As an entrepreneur who constantly juggles tasks while researching the next big market opportunity, here are my top YouTube productivity tips:
- Use playlists to organize informational and how-to content to revisit later
- Subscribe to industry news channels for easy access to updates
- Toggle on captions to scan content quickly while audio plays in meetings
- Consider multiple screens so you can separate viewing from tasks without losing your place
I hope these mobile screen locking steps, tools, and best practices help you stay focused and avoid YouTube viewing disruptions at inopportune times during your entrepreneurial journey! Let me know in the comments if you have any other tips.
