YouTube Kids is an application that has been a long time coming. There are very many children enjoying anything from cat videos to how to spell clips on YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing platform. This poses a risk. The children can be exposed to adult content or end up spending way too much time than their parents or guardian would want. YouTube Kids is an application that seeks to solve both problems and more at a go.
Launching on February 23rd as an Android exclusive (sorry iPhone and iPad users), the application will feature a simplified interface (see above photo) that centres content and omits certain YouTube features like the usually volatile comments section. Also, a lot of emphasis will be placed on using voice controls since it is kids being targeted after all. Parents will be able to set a timer so that kids can only view YouTube videos for a certain set period after which the YouTube app will lock itself and require a password in order for the user to continue accessing content. Only family-friendly content geared primarily for kids will be available through the app. An outright search for terms like “sex” on the app will trigger a pop up message advicing the kid to search for something else.
The trend towards making technology friendly for kids has caught steam and Kids Mode (or something similar depending on device or platform) is a key feature in smartphones and tablets.
YouTube kids will be free and as stated before, will be available only on Android devices. There’s no word on when it will come to iOS devices but with the iPad being a family favourite, we can surely count on that happening at some point.
Source: USAToday
