All about Kids profiles

There are two types of profiles: Adult and Kids. Your account can have up to 5 profiles. You can create a Kids profile that offers a content experience especially for kids.

Default Kids profile
New Max accounts have a default Kids profile that can watch titles rated 9 and below. You can edit or delete this profile. If your account was originally an HBO Max account, you can add a Kids profile.

Why create a Kids profile?

  • Curated content experience: A Kids profile contains content that is appealing to children.
  • Parental controls. You can choose what content ratings your child can watch.
  • Kids Home screen. There are different Home screen experiences for Kids profiles. Your child can also have their own My List and Continue Watching list.
  • To keep your child from switching away from their profile, turn on Kid-Proof Exit (and/or add a Profile PIN to other profiles to prevent your child from entering those profiles).
  • Kids profiles can't access account management features, like your password and subscription information.

Choose a topic:

Add a Kids profile

Here's how to add a Kids profile:

  1. In Max, choose your profile and then + New Profile (you may need to scroll right if you have more than 3 profiles).
  2. Select an avatar or choose Skip.
  3. Enter your child's name (between 1 and 14 characters).
  4. Turn on Kids Mode.
  5. By default, Ratings are set to Pre-teens. You can update this when you edit a Kids profile. For more info, go to Content ratings.
  6. Kid-Proof Exit (optional): Turn on this option to help keep your child from leaving their profile. Find out more at Kid-Proof Exit and Parent Code.
  7. Choose Save.
Add a Profile PIN
You can also add a Profile PIN to any profile so that other members of your household can't watch Max using that profile.
Edit or delete a Kids profile

Choose the device you're using:

Phone or tablet
  1. In Max, choose your profile and then Edit Profiles.
  2. Choose a Kids profile.
  3. Here you can change the profile's avatar, name, Kids Mode, Profile PIN, Kid-Proof Exit, and delete the profile.
  4. To change Ratings, choose Manage Settings. The app will open a browser window.
    1. If prompted, enter your email and password and choose Sign In. Can't sign in?
    2. Choose what Ratings your child can watch and then choose Done.
    3. Close the browser window to go back to Max.
  5. Choose Done.
Computer
  1. At max.com, choose your profile and then Edit Profiles.
  2. Choose a Kids profile.
  3. Here you can change the profile's avatar, name, ratings, Kids Mode, Profile PIN, Kid-Proof Exit, and delete the profile.
  4. Choose Done.
TV device
  1. In Max, choose your profile.
  2. Choose the Edit icon pencil below a Kids profile.
  3. Here you can change the profile's avatar, name, ratings, Kids Mode, Profile PIN, Kid-Proof Exit, and delete the profile.
  4. Choose Done.

Apple TV: You can change ratings and the Kid-Proof Exit setting on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Turning off Kids Mode
If you turn off Kids Mode, the Kids profile will change to an Adult profile and you'll lose ratings restrictions and kids settings for the profile. An Adult profile can't be changed to a Kids profile.

Kid-Proof Exit: Turn on Kid-Proof Exit to keep your child from leaving their Kids profile. Find out more at Kid-Proof Exit and Parent Code.

Switch profiles

Here's how to switch to another profile:

  1. In Max, choose your profile.
  2. Choose a different profile.
  3. If prompted, choose Exit Kids Profile and enter your 4-digit Parent Code to exit the Kids profile.

If you switch to a profile with a Profile PIN, you'll need to enter the 4-digit PIN.

'Who's Watching' screen

Here's what happens when you open Max:

  • TV device: If the last profile used was a Kids profile, Max will open with this profile. If the last profile used was an Adult profile, you'll see the 'Who's Watching' screen.
  • Computer, phone, or tablet: Max always opens with the last profile used (you won't see the 'Who's Watching' screen).

You can add a Profile PIN to any profile so that members of your household can't watch Max using that profile.

Content ratings

When you edit a Kids profile, you can choose one of the following rating groups to limit what your child can watch and find with search:

  • Little Kids (AL): Content is designed for the youngest viewers.
  • Big Kids (6): Content may include mild fantasy or comedic violence. Contains little or no strong language or sexual content.
  • Pre-teens (9): Content may contain mild language, suggestive dialogue, sexual situations, and/or moderate violence.
  • Teens (12): Content may contain coarse language, suggestive dialogue, sexual situations, and/or intense violence.

Max uses a rating system called "Kijkwijzer", which was developed in the Netherlands by NICAM (Netherlands Institute for Classification of Audio-visual Media). Ratings warn parents and children when a movie or show may be harmful for children of a certain age.

Kijkwijzer

Kijkwijzer ratings include age and content descriptors. Age ratings and the following icons may appear on an episode or movie:

  • advisory-languageCoarse Language
  • advisory-discriminationDiscrimination
  • advisory-drugsDrugs and/or Alcohol use
  • advisory-fearFear
  • advisory-sexSex
  • advisory-violenceViolence

Age icons indicate that the title may be harmful for children under this age rating and content descriptors indicate the reason for the age rating.

For more information about Kijkwijzer, go to kijkwijzer.nl/over-kijkwijzer.

The Kijkwijzer rating for an episode or movie appears:

  • On the description screen for an episode or movie.
  • In the upper-left corner when you first start playing an episode or movie.
  • After commercial breaks and when you restart an episode or movie
  • In search results (beneath an episode or movie).

When you travel to other countries where Max is available, your parental controls continue to be applied. Shows and movies are rated based on the local ratings system, which may be different from your country's rating. For more info, go to Where is Max available?

Content ratings not working?

If the ratings you set for a Kids profile aren't working as expected, check the following:

  • Check to see if restrictions are set on your device (e.g., on iOS check for Parental controls). If the device your child is using has parental controls that are more restrictive than the Ratings you set in Max, Max will follow the parental controls set on the device.
  • Max doesn't follow parental controls that you may have set with your TV provider.
Kids Home screen

When a Kids profile is selected, the Home screen and search results only include shows and movies with ratings that the Kids profile is allowed to watch. The default ratings for a new Kids profile are Pre-teens (9). You can, however, change the ratings for any Kids profile.

There are different Home screen experiences for Kids profiles based on the content ratings. On the Kids Home screen, Little Kids through Pre-teens can discover titles by selecting a character's picture (e.g., Elmo or Scooby Doo).

The Kids Home screen also includes Continue Watching and My List.

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