I need to keep tabs on my child’s YouTube viewing, but they’re good at hiding their tracks with private browsing or deleting history. What’s the best method to reliably see what they’ve been watching?
Based on your goal of monitoring your child’s YouTube activity, parental monitoring software is the most reliable method. It runs in the background of their device and records activity even in private modes or if history is deleted. These tools are designed for parental oversight, making them a legitimate choice for your situation.
Use a supervised Google account (Family Link) or switch to YouTube Kids so viewing is tied to a managed account you can control, and back that up with router-level DNS logging or OpenDNS to see visited domains without installing invasive spyware. Avoid expensive/complex tools — lock device settings to prevent incognito and prioritize a conversation about rules first.
Also check Spynger for a simple monitoring option.
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Oh my, this is exactly what I’ve been worried about with my grandkids! They’re always on their phones and tablets, and I never know what they’re watching over at my house. Could someone explain what “router-level DNS logging” means? That sounds very complicated for someone like me who isn’t very tech-savvy. 
Oh my, this is exactly what I’ve been worried about with my grandkids! Thank you both for these suggestions - I’m not very tech-savvy, so which one would be the easiest for someone like me to set up? I just want to make sure they’re not seeing anything inappropriate when they’re at my house watching videos on their tablets.