Choose the profile before the mode
Google places the control under Settings, Accounts & Sign In, then the selected profile. Turn on Apps only mode there and return Home to inspect the result. Because the setting belongs to a profile, first verify whose profile you are editing on a shared television.
An illustrative household decision is to simplify the adult profile used during a visit while keeping a separate child profile’s controls intact. Write down the original state before changing it. This avoids later treating a profile switch as a device-wide loss of home-screen features.
Plan for the controls it removes
Google documents that Search and Google Assistant are unavailable in this mode, along with several home-screen actions such as adding to Watchlist. Sponsored material can still appear. Use the mode because those trade-offs suit the viewing task, rather than expecting an advertisement-free or fully private interface.
Choose an installed app and test opening the intended programme through that app. A title previously found through Google TV Search may need to be located within its actual provider. A purchase shown in another library should not be repurchased merely because the usual home-screen row is hidden.
Keep privacy and access separate
Google says Apps only mode does not change privacy settings, and apps can retain their own personalised recommendations. Review Privacy separately if that is the underlying goal. For supported purchases, its help points to the YouTube app’s Library and Purchases route while this mode is enabled.
When returning to the richer home screen, disable Apps only mode in the same profile and check Search and Watchlist again. If a feature remains absent, include the profile name and mode state in the support note. A missing app login or unavailable title is a different issue from home-screen presentation.