Netflix tightens parental controls for kids

Netflix announced on Tuesday that parents will be able to choose what content their children can access or not

Parents can now filter out titles they deem inappropriate and protect individual profiles with a PIN so kids can't use them, the company said Tuesday. These changes take effect for customers in all 190 countries where the streaming service is available.

Netflix adds that parents will be able to consult the list of all the programs that have been watched by their children in the profiles created for them. It will also be possible to deactivate the automatic playback of a new episode when the previous one has ended. They have put age limitations on individual profiles, identifying a certain profile as for kids 7 and below or 13 and below.

The streaming giant has invested billions of dollars in original kids programing, including the Oscar-nominated film "Klaus" and TV series "Boss Baby." The new tools are designed to reassure parents that Netflix is the best streaming option for children as it faces growing competition, in particular from Disney , which features only kid-friendly programs.

Netflix has been refining its parental controls for years, but the new capabilities could be well-timed -- with millions of locked-down customers using the service as a babysitter for their children.