How to disable the ability to download/install apps and how to limit promoted services on Chromecast
14WARNING - I will NOT be held responsible for any damages the methods shown in this video may cause to yours or someone else's hardware, including loss of use of such devices and/or loss of profits from the resulting inability to use such devices. Any information you choose to put into use from this video is done AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I feel that the promoted streaming networks advertised in the user interface of a Google TV Chromecast can easily confuse someone (who is not technologically savvy for example) into minimally downloading and installing apps to services which they do not subscribe to. This may also lead them into believing that they must sign-up for these subscriptions and subsequently pay for these subscriptions in order to continue to use their Google TV Chromecast. Because of this questionable interface design choice, this video aims to show users how to limit how much 'recommended' streaming services they are exposed to on a Google TV Chromecast, and furthermore how to disable the ability to download and install apps that have not been previously downloaded and installed on said Google TV Chromecast.
In order to limit how many streaming services are promoted and/or recommended by Google on your Google TV Chromecast:
In the upper-right corner of the interface, select SETTINGS. In Settings, select ACCOUNTS AND SIGN-IN. Under Accounts and Sign-In, select your account. On the next screen, select APPS ONLY MODE.
In order to disable the ability to download and install apps that are not already present on your Google TV Chromecast:
In the upper-right corner of the interface, select SETTINGS. In Settings, select APPS. Under Apps, select SEE ALL APPS. Under All Apps, select SHOW SYSTEM APPS. Scroll down to find GOOGLE PLAY STORE. Select it and then select DISABLE. From this point forward, any attempt to select a banner ad to a service in which the app is NOT ALREADY downloaded and installed to the Chromecast will perform no function. Furthermore, if the specific app buttons on your Chromecast's remote control correspond to apps that are not already present on your Google TV Chromecast, instead of these buttons leading to the Google Play Store where the user can then download and install these apps, these buttons will instead become 'disabled' and will perform no function when pressed. NOTE that this change is not permanent, and the user can, in the future should they so wish, use the same steps to ENABLE the Google Play Store to subsequently download and install apps not already present on the Google TV Chromecast.
The images shown in this video were taken while using a Google Chromecast with Google TV HD GA03131-CA