YouTube Kids App: A Guide to Safe Video Streaming for Children
YouTube Kids: A Safer Video Experience for Children
Concerns regarding unsuitable content on YouTube have prompted the development of a dedicated application for younger viewers. YouTube Kids provides parents with a tool to curate a secure video environment for their children.
Setting Up a Kid-Friendly Environment
The app simplifies the process of establishing a controlled viewing space. It allows parents to limit access to only age-appropriate videos on both Android and iOS devices.
This functionality essentially creates a "walled garden" for children's online video consumption. It offers peace of mind by filtering out potentially harmful or inappropriate material.
Key Features and Benefits
- Parental Controls: Robust settings enable customization of the viewing experience.
- Age-Appropriate Content: Videos are categorized to align with different age groups.
- Device Compatibility: Seamlessly functions on both Android and iOS platforms.
YouTube Kids is designed to be a user-friendly solution for parents seeking to manage their children’s exposure to online video content. It provides a focused and safer alternative to the main YouTube platform.
Introducing YouTube Kids
YouTube’s expansive library provides videos covering a vast array of topics. Users can discover content ranging from musical performances to instructional guides, comedic sketches, and gaming analyses.
While this breadth is ideal for adult viewers, it presents challenges when children are involved. The potential for encountering unsuitable material necessitates parental supervision or restriction of access.
Many parents have either limited their children’s access to YouTube or closely monitored their viewing to prevent exposure to content beyond their developmental stage.
Fortunately, Google has developed a dedicated application designed specifically for younger audiences. YouTube Kids delivers a curated selection of YouTube videos, minimizing the risk of encountering inappropriate content.
This app, compatible with both Android and iOS devices, features a simplified interface and organizes content into four distinct categories for easy navigation.
Furthermore, YouTube Kids seamlessly integrates with devices like the Google Chromecast and smart televisions that support casting functionality.
Key Features and Target Audience
The platform is particularly well-suited for preschool and elementary-aged children. The content and recommendations are primarily focused on this younger demographic.
The interface is intentionally straightforward, ensuring ease of use for young viewers. Content is categorized to help children find videos aligned with their interests.
YouTube Kids provides a safer viewing experience, allowing children to explore YouTube’s vast resources with reduced parental concern.
It offers a curated environment, filtering out content deemed unsuitable for younger audiences.
This application aims to balance entertainment and education, providing a platform for learning and enjoyment.
The app’s design prioritizes simplicity and age-appropriateness, making it an excellent choice for families seeking a controlled YouTube experience for their children.
Utilizing the YouTube Kids Application
The YouTube Kids application is straightforward to operate after installation, however, understanding the function of each feature – and its potential limitations – is beneficial. Initially, locate the application within the app store on your iOS or Android device and proceed with installation.
First-Time Setup
Upon installation, initiate the application. Following a brief introductory screen, you will encounter the parental control system, as illustrated below.
The default passcode system is generally only appropriate for very young children, as a child capable of reading will likely decipher the randomly generated number combination (such as the "five, eight, one, one" example shown above) each time access to the app’s controls is required. Thankfully, it can be altered to a fixed number without prompting (a change we will implement shortly).
After several splash screens detailing the app’s features, you will be asked to specify your child’s age group. The age group setting appears to have the most significant influence on the homescreen recommendations and, during our testing, did not substantially affect search results.
Regarding search results, after selecting the age group, you will be prompted to enable or disable in-app searching. While you may be inclined to disable it for younger children (a recommendation we offer), refrain from doing so immediately. Even on a device primarily used by young children where the search function isn’t desired, keeping it enabled during initial sessions is beneficial (further explanation will follow).
Enhancing Video Suggestions
Upon completing these selections, you will be directed to the app’s home screen. Navigation is achieved using the icons located across the top of the screen. From left to right, these icons lead to suggested videos, music, educational content, and an “explore” section, which functions as a recommendation engine linking to new channels and content. Content within each section can be scrolled horizontally, and tapping on a video or channel initiates playback.
The Chromecast casting icon and the search icon are positioned in the upper right corner of the screen, while the parental lock/settings icon is located in the lower right corner. We will now explore the parental settings, but first, let’s observe your child’s experience with videos they enjoy. The search function significantly influences the suggested video content. For instance, if your child is fond of Minecraft videos, actively searching for them will help populate the suggestions with relevant material. Focus your searches on their interests to refine the recommendations.
Adjusting Application Settings
After this step, access the settings menu by tapping the padlock icon.
Within the settings menu, two key options are available: timer and settings. The timer function is self-explanatory; you can set a duration from 1 to 120 minutes, after which the app locks until the parent passcode is entered.
The Settings menu contains several toggles. In the Audio section, you can disable background music and sound effects (while potentially appealing to children, the cheerful background music can become irritating).
You can also disable casting. While convenient for viewing videos on a TV, you might want to disable this if your child enjoys interrupting your viewing with content like Sesame Street.
Disabling search restricts your child to the suggested videos, preventing active searching. For younger children, we recommend disabling it and periodically using your passcode to search for new content together, further refining the suggestions. Within the content controls section, you can also adjust the child’s age (if you initially selected a preschool age and find the videos too simplistic, you can increase the age bracket to access more content).
Finally, you can establish a custom passcode (recommended for all users, especially those with children who can read numbers) and clear the search history and recommendations. The latter function is rarely needed but useful for clearing a cluttered video queue with unwanted or irrelevant content.
With these adjustments made, you can confidently hand the device to your child.
Restricting Use Within the Application
If you have very young children – the primary demographic for YouTube Kids – it’s extremely useful to confine them to the application if the device isn’t exclusively for their use.
The YouTube Kids app doesn’t offer a direct toggle for locking children within the app, but this isn’t a deficiency of the application itself, as neither Android nor iOS allows individual apps to assume complete control of the device. Instead, to maintain the app as the primary focus, you’ll need to implement device-level restrictions through the operating system.
Related: How to Lock Down Your iPad or iPhone For Kids
Fortunately, recent versions of both Android and iOS support this level of operating system control over applications. You can learn how to lock your child into a specific application in our guide to securing your iOS device for kids and our guide to securing your Android device for kids.
Limitations of the YouTube Kids Application
Despite our generally positive assessment of the application’s quality and ease of use, certain aspects of YouTube Kids warrant consideration.
Primarily, content selection relies on algorithmic processes rather than human curation. This signifies that a computer program, alongside a reporting mechanism, determines the suitability of content for young viewers, rather than direct human oversight. Consequently, unsuitable material can occasionally be presented, although a flagging feature allows users to report inappropriate videos. We actively attempted to locate genuinely objectionable content without success, though the algorithm did surface some unusual videos.
For instance, a search for the innocuous term "corn" yielded numerous videos originating from Cornell University, including guidance from admissions staff. While these videos were not harmful, their relevance to the app’s target demographic – children aged eight and under – is questionable. It’s unlikely that this age group would be actively seeking college admissions advice.
Furthermore, the application lacks the functionality to subscribe to channels or compile playlists. Considering its foundation as a YouTube application, even one designed for children, this omission is notable. Young viewers often develop attachments to YouTube creators, and the ability to subscribe to channels like The Diamond Minecart, or to create curated playlists, would enhance the user experience.
Unlike the content curation approach, which represents a deliberate design decision, the absence of subscription and playlist features appears to be a usability issue that could be addressed in a future update.
Although not without its flaws, YouTube Kids provides a valuable platform for delivering age-appropriate video content to young children. If you have inquiries regarding device safety for children or broader topics related to kids and technology, please contact us at ask@howtogeek.com, and we will endeavor to provide assistance.