Here's the thing: Max has some of the best TV and movies ever made. The Last of Us, Succession, Studio Ghibli films, Harry Potter, incredible documentaries—it's a treasure trove if you're an adult or responsible teen.

But as a family streaming service? It's a minefield. The Parents Television Council literally issued a press release in 2023 calling out Max's parental controls for being full of holes. Kids Mode exists, but multiple sources confirm it's not reliable. You're one algorithm slip or curious click away from your 8-year-old seeing something from Euphoria or a true crime murder scene.

The app itself is also buggy—crashes, buffering, audio cutting out. For a premium service, that's inexcusable.

If you're getting Max, treat it like an adult streaming service that happens to have some kids' content, not the other way around. Keep it off shared devices, don't give kids the password, and if they're watching, you need to be actively supervising. This isn't Netflix's polished family experience—it's HBO's everything-bagel approach, and that requires serious parental involvement.