HomeTrail Plus can watch a YouTube channel for new videos without adding them directly to a student's Nest. TrailGuide sends the parent a link first, and the video appears in Nest only after the parent replies ADD.
Before you begin
- The student must have Nest access enabled.
- TrailGuide must be connected if you want new-video alerts by SMS or WhatsApp.
- You need the channel's YouTube URL or
@handle.
Follow a channel in HomeTrail
- Open Plus Hub → Nest.
- Find Channel follows.
- Choose the Student.
- Enter Your label for the channel, such as “Science lessons.”
- Under YouTube channel, paste the channel URL or enter its
@handle. - Keep Have TrailGuide text me when a new video is ready selected if you want alerts.
- Select Follow channel.
HomeTrail shows each active follow with the student and whether TrailGuide alerts are on or off.
Follow or manage channels with TrailGuide
You can also ask TrailGuide to follow a channel, list active follows, unfollow a channel, or change its alerts. TrailGuide asks for confirmation before changing a follow.
Try messages such as:
- “Follow @scienceforkids for Avery and text me when a new video is ready.”
- “Which YouTube channels am I following?”
- “Turn off new-video alerts for Science lessons and Avery.”
- “Stop following Science lessons for Avery.”
Turning alerts off keeps the channel follow active but stops its new-video texts. Unfollowing stops future videos from that channel; videos already added to Nest remain.
Approve a new video for Nest
When a followed channel publishes a video:
- TrailGuide texts you the direct YouTube link after quiet hours have ended.
- Open the link and review the video.
- Reply ADD in the same TrailGuide conversation.
- TrailGuide confirms that the video was added to the student's Nest.
If one alert contains several videos, replying ADD approves all videos listed in that prompt. A video waiting for approval is not available to the student in Nest. Reply while the approval prompt is still active; older prompts expire instead of adding a video later without fresh context.
Privacy and messaging
The TrailGuide alert includes the public YouTube link, your channel label, and the student's name so you can identify the intended student. Standard SMS or WhatsApp messaging terms may apply. HomeTrail delays these alerts during quiet hours, so an alert may arrive later than the video's YouTube publish time.
You remain in control of what reaches Nest: following a channel does not automatically approve every new video, and HomeTrail does not require the student to browse the channel directly.
