How to set parental controls on Disney+ as Star launches

Yes, there are the new animated releases like Solar Opposites, as you would expect of Disney - but the fact it’s come from the pen of Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland should tell you it’s not family-friendly fare.

• Sign up to Disney+ now for £79.90 for a year or £7.99 a month

We're very excited about the arrival of Star. But we also suspect there are a fair few Disney Plus-subscribing parents who have woken today feeling a little nervous about their children accessing material that isn’t suitable for them. Disney, as ever, is several steps ahead, having put in place a parental lock system on the Plus platform at the same time as the roll-out of Star.

Here’s how you can enable these age-specific restrictions in the back end of Disney+.

How to set up parental controls on Disney+

One measure Disney has introduced is a PIN access system to subscriber profiles. This will prevent curious little ones from trying to access Disney+ via a profile tailored to adults.

1. If you’re not already subscribed, sign up to Disney+ and open it on your TV, tablet, phone or other device.
2. All subscribers, whether old or new, should find a prompt announced arrival of Star (as of 23rd February) in the platform, regardless of device.
3. If you want to watch the 18+-rated material on Star, press ‘Full catalogue’. If not, press ‘Not now.’ You’ll need to confirm this with your password. If you select the latter, your account will automatically be given a 14+ age rating.
4. Now you’ll get the option to create a four-digit profile PIN. (And for goodness sake, don’t use one of your kids’ birthdays.)

How to set age ratings on Disney+

If you have a number of profiles in use on your Disney+ account, you can customise each of them with a specific age rating. And if your family only has one account? Now’s a good time to set up at least one more that’s purely for kids or for adults.

1. Open Disney+
2. Tap the profile icon, and then select ‘Edit profiles’ from the dropdown menu.
3. Choose the profile with the age rating you want to adjust.
4. Under the ‘Parental controls’ section, select ‘Content rating’ and enter your account password.
5. Now you can apply an age rating to the profile: 6+, 9+, 12+, 14+, 16+ or 18+.

With this age rating in place, the Disney’s library is set to automatically filter out any films or shows that aren’t suitable for that age bracket.

As you can see, with a robust PIN in place on your adult profile, and a smartly chosen age rating applied to each profile, Disney+ remains as suitable for children as it ever did. Then, once you've finally packed the kids off to bed, you can finally settle down in front of Die Hard.

You can sign up Disney+ now for £79.90 for a year or £7.99 a month. To find out what's available, read our lists of Disney+ shows and Disney+ Star movies.