Kodi is a very powerful media center that has proven to be very popular thanks to its wide range of features. The software is easy to install and gives you access to streams of the latest and most popular Movies, TV Shows, Live TV, Live Sports, and more. Just install the suitable add-on and bring a world of entertainment at your fingertips.
A great advantage of the software is that it can be installed on a wide variety of platforms including Android , Windows, Linux, and more. Kodi is perfect for the media addicts looking for a free all-in-one TV streaming solution
- See how to setup subtitles on kodi
If you’re a parent and want to let your kids use your media center, you know how stressful it can be to make sure they aren’t accessing inappropriate content. Fortunately, Kodi makes it easy to set up parental controls to protect them from harm. In this article, you will learn how to enable Kodi Parental Controls.
What is a Kodi Profile?
The good news about kodi is that it comes fully packed with in-built and ready to use features. The Profiles feature gives you the possibility to create separate areas on kodi with content and settings defined to you liking. Profiles allow users to save all of settings as a profile and change them at the touch of a button. It also allows you to grant access to specific folders and network shares based on the profile being used. This is ideal for systems that have multiple users.
These individual profiles allow you to customize the environment for multiple users, allowing for such functionality as:
- Customized view settings such as skins for each user
- The ability to lock folders, such as network shares on a per-user basis
- Separate media libraries for each user
- Unique RSS feeds for each user
- Unique keymapping for each user
- Unique network settings
All options stored in the userdata folder can be customized per profile, allowing for an amazing amount of flexibility.
Master User is the name given to the default profile on kodi and which has full access to all contents and settings of the media center. When you create a profile for your kids, as a Matser User, you can manually control what kind of content they can have access to including addons, pictures, file manager, and more.
How to set up a new profile for your kids in kodi ?
To set up a new profile in Kodi, follow the steps below :
Launch kodi and hit the gear icon to access the settings page.
Click on Profiles
Then click “General” and make sure “Show login screen on startup” is enabled.
Now, select Profiles from the menu on the left. If this is your first time working with profiles, there will only be one profile here called Master User . To create a new profile, click on Add Profile
Enter a name to your new profile and click OK
Now you will see an input field that says Browse for Folder . This allows you to select a directory for your profile at which your personalized settings will be stored.
– OK will choose the ‘default’ folder which will be stored under the userdata-folder and will have the same name as the profile name.
– New folder will give you the option to specify a self-created folder for your profile which you need to select after a name for it was given. The folder for the profile will then be found under: userdata -> profiles -> <folder name>
You will now see the Edit Profile window. Here you can set the options for your new profile:
Profile Name: the name of the profile you entered above
Profile picture: browse to some icon you would like to select as a profile picture
Profile directory: the path to the profile directory you might have created above
Lock prefences: allows you to lock many of your preferences. This is detailed below.
Check out below for a bit more details on each section:
- Lock Music Window – Prevents access to the music section of Kodi.
- Lock Videos Window – Stops access to all Kodi videos including movies and TV shows. You will probably want to activate it in fact!
- Lock Pictures Window – Keeps the pictures section locked with a password.
- Lock programs and scripts windows – Prevents anyone through the more advanced sections of Kodi’s interface.
- Lock File Manager – It locks the file manager section, preventing anyone from adding new repository sources or browsing current sources.
- Lock settings – Avoid access to the settings panel. You can also choose between the different levels of settings, from basic to advanced.
- Lock Add-ons Manager – Keep unverified people away from the add-ons screen. Avoid installing / uninstalling add-ons as well as accessing all sources provided through these addons.
Alternatively, you can use the parental controls below if you want to manage these settings more precisely. When you lock an item, you need a password to access it.
Media Info: allows you to have separate information saved for your media, i.e. IMdB, AllMusic, etc. The options are
- Separate – Profiles have separate media info with full control
- Shares with Default – Shares media info with the default user with full control
- Shares with Default (Read Only) – Shares media info with the default user, and is locked by the master code
- Separate (Locked) – Profile has separate media info, but you can only change it by enabling master mode.
Media sources: allows you to have separate media sources for the profiles. The options are
- Separate – Profiles have separate media sources with full control
- Shares with Default – Shares media sources with the default user with full control
- Shares with Default (Read Only) – Shares media sources with the default user, and is locked by the master code
- Separate (Locked) – Profiles have separate media sources, but you can only change them by enabling master mode.
Now go back to the Profile Settings screen and check the box to enable the login screen . This means that when you start Kodi you will be prompted to sign in.
Set up Kodi Parental Controls
Now that you have created a profile for your kids, you will want to make sure they don’t mess up with the profile and stumble upon inappropriate content you don’t want them to see. Here, Master Lock kodi feature comes to play.
The steps below will explain how to set up parental controls on kodi using Master Lock feature:
Launch kodi and tap the gear icon to access the settings
Then click on “Interface”
Tap the little gear at the bottom of the left menu until it says “Expert”. Select the “Master lock” tab, and choose the option, ” Master lock code and settings “
Click on the upper option “Master lock”. It starts off by saying “Disabled“, however, we’re about to change that.
A small menu will open allowing you to select the lock options:
- Disabled
- Digital password
- Gamepad Buttons Combo
- Full text password
We are going to use a Numeric Password for the sake of this guilde. You can use any other option if you want. Type your “numeric password,” and click “done.”
Now re-enter your numeric password when prompted and click “Done” again.
Back in the lock preferences, you will now be able to choose the features you want to protect with your password, then press “OK”. It contains the same options as explained above.
Back to the Master Lock screen, just look for the option “Request master lock code on startup”. Toggle it to “on” if you want to prevent access to the entire Kodi program.
Your settings are now automatically saved. Kodi will now ask you for a password whenever you access selected sections or many other important menu items.
Kodi has been a must have tool for media addicts seeking an All-in-One entertainment solution. It has been around for several years and keeps evolving to offer its users unique features. Kodi parental controls option is one the most important ones for parents desiring to manage what their kids can watch on the media center.
