Be honest… did you enable Restricted Mode at any point and forgot about it? I won’t get mad. But if you did, then you should really disable it.

Want to know what the error is, why it occurs, and how to solve it? Jump in the guide below and pay attention to the screenshots to finish this quicker!

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Why Are You Getting the “Restricted Mode has hidden comments for this video” Error?

The “Restricted Mode has hidden comments for this video” error is not really an error. Rather, a notification that lets you know YouTube is protecting your sanity by not showing you any comments.

This is what the error looks like.

As you can see, the comment sections of all videos are hidden from you. 

Instead of the comments, you’ll see the “Restricted Mode has hidden comments for this video” error.

This error appears either because you activated it at some point and forgot about it, or the network administrator activated it.

Restricted Mode theoretically hides offensive or mature comments from you.

But in reality, it hides all comments from all YouTube videos. Because YouTube thinks you’re a baby who can’t handle anything. Thanks, YouTube…

If your mobile phone is connected to a network and the network administrator has enabled Restriction Mode for YouTube, you’ll also get this error.

This usually happens if you access YouTube from a library, school computer, or network.

This could also be caused if you connect to an organization’s VPN.

How Can You Remove Restricted Mode on YouTube?

First off, you can try disabling Restricted Mode from within YouTube’s settings.

If this doesn’t work, you should turn off your VPN or change your DNS to 8.8.8.8.

These three solutions should solve your problem and disable the Restricted Mode.

Maybe you’ve enabled it in the past, or the VPN you’re using is causing this issue.

Alternatively, change your DNS to 8.8.8.8. will override your administrator’s settings by creating a new DNS.

We’ll start with the simplest method and move on to more complicated solutions that should solve your problem:

Turn off your VPN

If you’re using a VPN as part of an organization project, chances are that’s why Restricted Mode is enabled on YouTube.

The system administrator could have enabled it by default for security and work productivity reasons.

If you disconnect from the VPN, those settings will disappear, which means YouTube’s Restricted Mode will also be disabled.

Disconnecting from your VPN should be pretty simple if you can find the main VPN interface.

On your computer, look in the bottom right for an arrow icon. That’s the icon for Hidden Icons.

Click on it and see if the VPN is somewhere there. Then, click on the VPN icon, and the main interface will appear.

The Disconnect button should be somewhere in the app.

If you’re on a mobile device, the VPN app is somewhere in your app list.

Look for it, access it, and find the Disconnect button.

After you disconnect the VPN, try YouTube again.

If the VPN was causing the problem, the YouTube comments should appear normally now.

The Restricted Mode should be disabled by default when you disconnect from the VPN.

If this doesn’t work, then move on to other solutions.

Disable Restricted Mode

A simple way of dealing with Restricted Mode is by disabling it (who would have thought?).

Here’s how to do that:

1. Tap your profile picture

When you first open YouTube, you’ll land on the main page. To go to your Settings, you need to select your Profile picture.

The top-right corner is where you need to look for it.

Selecting your profile picture will open a new menu (see below).

2. Select “Setting“

As I said, you’ll need to open the YouTube settings to disable the restricted mode, so select “Settings” and see the next steps below:

3. Select “General“

Inside the “Settings” page, you’ll find a long list of options such as “General“, “Data Saving“, “Autoplay“, “Video quality preferences“, and much, MUCH more.

Fortunately, you need the “General” settings, which are at the top of the page.

4. Disable Restricted Mode

On the new page (see the screenshot above), scroll down until you reach the very bottom. The “Restricted Mode” option should be there, under the “Location” and above “Enable stats for nerds”.

The General Settings contain other options like “Uploads,” “Voice search language,” “Double-tap to seek,” and more.

“Restricted Mode” is toward the bottom, so scroll down to find it and then… select it.

This option can be toggled on and off. In the picture above, Restricted Mode is toggled on, so it’s blue.

To turn it off, tap on it. It’ll turn grey, which signifies that it’s disabled.

If you’re on a computer, the process is much simpler.

Just click on your profile picture and select “Restricted Mode.”

The option can be easily missed if you’re not looking, though. Trust me, I know.

Chances are you didn’t even realize there’s a YouTube Restricted Mode and that you can enable it this easily (I know I didn’t).

After you disable Restricted Mode, you should be able to see all the comments on all YouTube videos.

If this doesn’t work, move on to the final solution.

Change your DNS to 8.8.8.8.

This solution only works on a computer because you can’t change your DNS on a mobile phone.

If you change your DNS to 8.8.8.8., the “Restricted mode has hidden comments for this video” error should disappear.

That’s because this DNS address was specifically created by Google to address these types of errors.

However, before you do this, you should note down your present DNS address so that you can restore it later on if anything bad happens.

To switch your DNS address to 8.8.8.8., do this:

• Open Control Panel
• Open the “Network and Sharing Center” under the “Network and Internet” Menu
• Click on “Change Adapter Settings” on the left
• Select “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
• Click on “Properties”
• Select the “Use the following DNS server address” option
• Replace the existing DNS address with 8.8.8.8.

After you replace your existing DNS with 8.8.8.8., the YouTube comments should appear.

The YouTube Restricted Mode should also be disabled.

Switch between Wi-Fi and Mobile Data

One last solution, in case anything else fails…

If you’re on a mobile device and the “Restricted Mode has hidden comments for this video” appears, you could try switching between Wi-Fi and cellular data.

It’s not an official solution to this problem, but then again, no solution is official.

Some users have successfully overcome this error by switching to Wi-Fi and cellular data on their phones.

To do this, swipe down from the top of the screen and select Wi-Fi/Mobile Data.

If you have Mobile Data on, turn it off and enable Wi-Fi.

See if this solves your problem and if it does, then you’re very welcome!

Let me know in the comments below how else I can help you and whether this guide was helpful to you!

FAQ

Why can’t I disable Restricted Mode?

If you tried disabling Restricted Mode on YouTube, but the option isn’t there, or it reactivates again, you’ve got a problem.

Most likely, you’re using a private network and an organization-owned computer.

The network administrator may have customized YouTube to have Restricted Mode on at all times.

Unless you contact the administrator and tell them to disable Restricted Mode, there isn’t much you can do.

As long as you’re using the device connected to that private network, Restricted Mode will always be enabled.

Talk to the administrator and see what you can do!