To the relief of all parents anxiously watching their children navigate the minefield of the internet, the YouTube – under Google – has released a child-friendly app client aptly named YouTube Kids.
YouTube’s group product manager, Shimrit Ben-Yair, cites that the decision was made following many requests from parents to help make navigating YouTube a far more child-friendly experience. “Parents were constantly asking us, can you make YouTube a better place for our kids”, Ben-Yair says.
YouTube Kids, like it’s older brother service, will feature videos in addition to channels and playlisted content – all specifically aimed at a young audience. Unlike the official YouTube service, YouTube Kids will be devoid of user comments or unsuitable videos. Currently, videos on the service are broken down into four categories, named Shows, Music, Learning, and Explore.
The YouTube Kids app will also allow parents to set a timer for use, as well as the ability to to silence the app or disable video searching. Specifically for children, the app displays large snapshots of videos for greater ease of use by less-dextrous children, as well as keyword blocking intended to prevent children from searching for inappropriate content.
YouTube’s introduction of YouTube Kids follows a broader movement in the online services industry, with the intent of maintaining a child-friendly space not only to assuage the concerns of parents and caretakers, but also to market their products to a younger audience.
Amazon, in particular, launched its own series of kid’s television shows early last year for viewing by Prime account holders in an attempt to appeal both to the sensibilities of parent consumers.
YouTube Kids saw a formal app release this morning, and is at present available on Android and iOS devices via the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, respectively.
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