Channels & viewing

[rkkl]

This needs to be fixed. This is only happening on the Roku version of the app. I can still watch movies on my phone  but who wants to watch a movie on a phone. I want to watch it on my tv. Even if you pay for a movie it is blocked on Rokus version of the app. Age restriction is turned off on both the app and my account. Ive tried everything. Roku also blocks it if I cast it to my tv from my phone while Im watching a movie. This is a big problem if people cannot watch movies they paid for on the app. Youtube and google are not doing anything about this from their end either. There have been complaints about this since last year.

[vkapella]

Update your age in your Google profile to include your year of birth.   You will see from many posters that this is the solution - a complete age in your profile.   It appears the Roku version of the app is the only version of the app that actually checks the date of birth!

[rkkl]

I see what the problem is now. There is no option for a birthdate for my youtube account. This is due to youtube forcing everyone to make new google accounts and merging them with youtube accounts. This turned all existing youtube accounts into "brand accounts" managed by the new google accounts. Despite the google account having a suitable birth date the brand account it manages does not have a birthdate to check. So rokus app just doesnt allow brand accounts to access restricted content even though I am able to everywhere else. 

I have fixed the issue sort of. I started fresh and signed back in my email which was for both the brand account and its manager account. Now both accounts have linked and I can switch between the one thats age restricted and the one thats not.

[StreamerUser]

@rkkl 

Thanks for posting back your solution for Google's account management changes and their Roku YT app so that other users may see it.

To be clear, its not Roku's app - its Google's YT app for Roku.

Google codes and develops and publishes it to the Roku channelstore, and this problem was entirely created by Google's changes to both their Roku YT app and their account management system (and solved by Google/changes to their accounts).

You should contact/complain to Google about their YT app for Roku and changes in account management they implemented.

[Jprophet2001]

has nothing to do with google as other have pointed out ,

roku fixed it not google because i used same account on different devices and it works

but roku used same excuse for most of their apps if you browse thru forums

[StreamerUser]

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@Jprophet2001 wrote:

has nothing to do with google as other have pointed out ,

roku fixed it not google because i used same account on different devices and it works

but roku used same excuse for most of their apps if you browse thru forums

---

Apparently reading and facts aren't your forte.

Try reading through the entire thread to enhance your factual understanding of who codes, controls, develops and distributes the YouTube app & service (hint: Google), and how to "fix" the problem (hint:  Google account settings).

[Jprophet2001]

apparently reading is not your forte,

youtube is not the only app with not playing, 

as i said read thru the forums, it a roku issue

[Jprophet2001]

take Streamerusers advice with a grain of salt 

youtube is not the only app with issues

peacock, netflix, etc. have issues on any roku device

try youtube on phone tablet or firestick and youll see what i am saying its not a google issue 

[atc98092]

Just because people continue to claim it so on the forum does not make it so. The functionality within the YouTube channel on Roku devices is under 100% control of Google. There is absolutely nothing Roku could possibly do to block access to something within a 3rd party channel. Every person that reported the problem, then discovered they didn't have their birth year entered into their Google account and added the year, could then view the age-restricted material. 

For your scenario to be correct, Roku would have to be able to monitor the content within another company's channel, and then block said content. That is impossible. The channel developers (in this case Google) have the only control of the coding within the channel.

Google is the one that flags their content as age restricted. There's no way an outside company could monitor that content and determine if it should be age restricted. Especially if it hadn't even begun streaming yet.

It doesn't matter if YouTube works differently on different devices. Not the same app in the slightest. It's written in a different programming language and the code cannot be used on a different device. If there's a difference in functionality between the same app on different devices, that's the programmer's doing, not the platform provider. 

[IceCoLo]

Yes.  Google is in full control of their app on Roku. 

The YouTube Roku app directs you to the YouTube television url @ youtube.com/tv.
Note that if you try to go to this site on your computer, you will be redirected to the desktop version of the site @ youtube.com with no /tv at the end.  

The desktop version has no stringent age restrictions so you can browse most age restricted content without it requiring you to login for age verification or without you having to set the year of birth in your profile, if you're logged in already.

However, the television url has strict restrictions and requires you to login and set your year of birth for age verification.

I have tested this on Xbox One X and Xbox Series X.   It's not the device that's restricting you, it's the url the app is directing you to that determines the form of restrictions you have.  The way that url works is fully controlled by Google.  

Perhaps they are legally required to do this on streaming devices and smart TVs.

Anyway, the solution for this is to be logged in and set your year of birth within your YouTube account.