Last week, we reported that Google was working on a ‘YouTube Kids’ product and that it’d be announced today. Well Google has just announced it through their YouTube blog. The YouTube Kids app for Android and iOS is being described as a “family friendly destination”. And there was some talk last week, likely joking but still probably true, that Google came up with YouTube Kids because of Nicki Minaj. Either way, it’s still nice to have an app for your kids to watch YouTube and get the good stuff and not the inappropriate stuff. From Google’s blog post:
“Today, we’re introducing the YouTube Kids app, the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind. The app makes it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore, and is available for free on and the in the U.S.”
Google has also included parental controls with the YouTube Kids app. Including a Timer, that allows the app to be the bad guy and telling your kids its time to go to bed, or eat dinner, or something else. The app will alert your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to do it. Additionally, there’s Sound settings. With this you are able to turn off background music and sound effects, for when you need some quiet time. Search Settings has also been included. This limits what your kids can watch based on pre-selected videos. And as always, you can provide product feedback.
The YouTube Kids app is available today on Android and iOS for free, and will be available soon, pre-loaded, on the Kurio and nabi kids’ tablets. It’s a great initiative from Google, because there’s a ton of content on YouTube that is free, but there’s also a bunch that you probably don’t want your kids to see. And this way you can limit what they can and can’t watch on YouTube. Good job Google!