Kids love and enjoy watching videos as much as adults, if not even more than us. The reason why YouTube Kids exists is so that kids can enjoy videos without explicit or disturbing content.
Answer:
The YouTube Kids app is a more rigorously monitored and secured version of the main YouTube app. Also, the YouTube Kids app enables younger children to watch content without adult supervision by limiting the number of features and carefully vetting the content.
This article will give you a full-blown guide on YouTube Kids, how it works, and everything about the app. So, we hope you stay with us till the end of this article.
What Is YouTube Kids?
The YouTube Kids app is a more rigorously monitored and secured version of the main YouTube app. Also, The YouTube Kids app enables younger children to watch content without adult supervision by limiting the number of features and carefully vetting the content.
Downloading the app to your smartphone and registering for an account are the only requirements to begin using YouTube Kids online. Users aren’t obliged to have a Google or Gmail account, but parents must put one up for their children (which is standard for other YouTube users). Parents can adjust the settings and choose how much access the app during the setup process.
Children cannot, however, immediately begin using this service. It must initially be by a parent with specific parental restrictions for each child. You can make up to eight user profiles and give each one a certain age range so that only content appropriate for that group is allowed.
How Do YouTube Kids Work?
YouTube kids is a standalone app and website that provides an interface for children to view a specially curated selection of age appropriation YouTube videos. The idea is that violent and explicit content is out.
In contrast, educational and creative content emphasizes that YouTube kids are a safer experience than the regular YouTube site and the app. YouTube kids work because you have to set up an account for your kid, and their account is then linked to your Google account. In addition, YouTube kids allow you to control the type of content they have access to, a time limit on their daily app use, and more.
While YouTube kids are not perfect, it provides many ways for parents to safeguard their children from accessing inappropriate content.
[Note: YouTube kids is ad-supported, which means your child will see ads in the app. You can remove the ads by subscribing to YouTube Premium. However, your child may still see commercial content like unboxing videos and videos from toy manufacturers unless you specifically block the videos.]
Is YouTube Kids Free?
Yes, the YouTube Kids app is free. You can access it online even if you dont have a YouTube account. However, suppose you do make an account. In that case, you will be available to customize YouTube Kids and allow your kids to use the watch it again features. It is also helpful for parents who want to track their children’s YouTube history and get content suggestions based on their previously watched videos.
However, YouTube Premium subscribers that sign into YouTube Kids can pass on their premium benefits to their kids, including ad-free viewing, free video downloads, and the ability for YouTube to play in the background even when you leave the app is great for kids that see YouTube as a music player.
How To Set Up YouTube Kids?
Follow the below steps to set up YouTube Kids,
Step 1: Open YouTube Kids
Firstly, you need to open the YouTube kids app or your child’s device.
Step 2: Tap On I’m Parent
In the second step, I was hoping you could tap the right arrow on the I am a parent.
Step 3: Tap Confirm
Now, you need to enter your birth year and tap on Confirm. After that, watch the intro video, and tap on the right arrow.
Step 4: Tap On Sign In
In the next step, choose the account you want to sign in with, and tap Sign In. Next, read the parental consent form and privacy policy, then enter your password and tap on Confirm.
Step 5: Tap On Right Arrow
Enter your child’s information, then tap on the right arrow. Next, choose the type of content you approve of, the tap on the right arrow again.
Step 6: Tap On +
If you agree with the selected content, tap select and now tap on the + to add another profile, or tap the right arrow to proceed.
Step 7: Tap On Done
Finally, view the parent feature tour, then tap on Done when you finish the process.
What kind Of Content Is Allowed On YouTube Kids?
YouTube kids showcase kid-friendly content for various age levels. To create a kid-friendly library, YouTube takes its massive library of videos and filters it to find age-appropriate content for preteens, younger children, and preschoolers. It’s primarily through automated filters, but the videos can also be manually added or removed by YouTube staff.
If you are curious about what YouTube considers family-friendly content, you can check out the family-friendly content guide they provide to their content creators. The guide is not directly applicable to you as a parent, but it will help you understand the type of content your children will find on YouTube Kids.
Here are a few basic content categories we can find on YouTube kids,
Preschool
The preschool mode is for young children who are not yet in school. Videos in this mode are primarily for learning, play, and creativity.
Younger
This mode towards kids between the ages of 5-7. It adds content like music, cartoons, and arts and crafts to fuel your child’s creative side.
Older
The older mode is for preteens between 8-12. You will find content like let’s play gaming videos and other content that appeals to the above age range.
What Can I Watch On YouTube, Kids?
Numerous music videos for both traditional and modern children’s songs are available on the app, along with snippets and occasionally entire episodes of well-known animated series for kids. Additionally, educational videos are accessible through websites like TED-Ed, Khan Academy, and others. Children can also access user-generated content, such as toy unpacking videos, DIY tasks, and more.
How To Approve Channels On YouTube Kids?
If you worry that your kids might see inappropriate content slipping through the cracks, you can choose to approve channels on YuTube Kids manually. As a parent, this feature allows you fine control over the channels your kids can watch. For example, you could choose to limit your child to only watching official Disney content.
Here are the steps for you to approve channels on Youtube kids.
Step 1: Launch YouTube Kids
Firstly, you must launch the Youtube kids app on your child’s phone or personal device.
Step 2: Tap On The Lock
Secondly, tap on the lock in the lower right corner of the YouTube Kids home menu.
Step 3: Tap On Submit
In the next process, answer the math question, tap on Submit, or create your passcode for future use.
Step 4: Tap On Settings
Now, in the next step, tap on the settings.
Step 5: Click Edit Settings
In the next step, scroll to the content setting from the settings and click on the edit settings.
Step 6: Tap On Approve
Now, you need to tap on the approved content yourself and tap on the select.
Step 7: Tap The + Icon
In the next process, scroll through the list of collections and individual channels, and tap the + icon to approve a channel or collection. After that, read the disclaimer and click on “got it.”
Step 8: Tap On Done
Now, tap the icons in the middle top section to pursue a list of shows, music content, learning content, and discovery-based content. When you complete approving new channels, tap on “Done.”
Finally, your child only has access to the shows, channels, and collections you approve of. Repeat these steps at any time in the future to add or remove any content you like.
What Makes YouTube Kids Unique?
The unique features that make YouTube Kids unique are here,
- Kid-Friendly Content
- Parental Controls
- No Adverts Or Comments
Kid-Friendly Content
The primary way that the YouTube Kids app differs from the main YouTube app is that only kid-friendly content is available. Google has already boasted that it has well-known brands on board with it, including Jim Henson TV, Mother Goose Club, Talking Tom and Friends, and DreamWorksTV. In addition, you can use voice or text search to look through channels and playlists in five categories.
We discovered whole seasons of the television program Barney & Friends by searching for terms similar to “Barney.” We even looked for adult-like content, such as President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address. But when researching for more explicit content, like snatches from 50 Shades of Grey, we came up empty-handed and were encouraged to look elsewhere. However, this does not imply that the software is completely secure.
Parental Controls
All the new parental settings on YouTube Kids are among its best features. As we previously said, you must get through a clever lock screen to access Settings, but you may alter the sounds and music to preserve your sanity. Even the decision to allow your children to search is up to you. If not, only videos from the highlighted categories will be available. It is merely a video-watching app; it has no social features.
That implies that your kids cannot subscribe to the Sesame Street channel and cannot check the comments or view count on Sesame Street videos. But don’t worry, because its videos can be found through searches or will always be visible in the Shows category. There is no comment section, so your kids won’t be exposed to obscene comments there too.
No Adverts Or Comments
Without advertisements, YouTube Kids wouldn’t be a real Google app, but like the rest of the app, they are kid-friendly. For instance, when we were testing, we heard an advertisement for the Twenty Trucks channel. So your youngster will likely never see a Carl’s Jr. commercial featuring a scantily clad Kim Kardashian taking a bath while munching on something.
What Ages Are YouTube Kids Best For?
Although the app doesn’t specify a minimum age, kids under 13 are typically a good fit. The choice of how young a youngster can begin using the app is entirely up to each family. Children older (about 13) will probably wish to study a wider variety of content, much of which can be instructive or inspiring. What happened was that YouTube realized there wasn’t a decent way for families to switch from the YouTube Kids app to the “normal” YouTube that the rest of us use.
Parents can utilize a monitored account on YouTube to broaden the audience for the content that is available in the app. Additionally, children won’t be able to engage with other users as they could on the standard YouTube app or website when using a supervised account.
Is YouTube Kids Safe?
Yes, Youtube kids are safe for the most part. The app uses intricate algorithms to determine whether the content is appropriate for the app. While some content is personally uploaded and carefully monitored, something could always fall through the cracks. Safety was a major issue when the app was first launched since some dishonest artists were able to use the algorithm and flood the app with strange and inappropriate videos, but things have significantly improved since then.
Since YouTube Kids isn’t a babysitter, some of the burdens of supervising their children’s use of the program fall to the parents, you have many options to select the kind of content offered, and you may report any unsuitable stuff for urgent manual inspection.
Is There Inappropriate Content On YouTube Kids?
Unfortunately, Yes. While YouTube kids block tons of content, 500+ hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute. There is no way for YouTube’s algorithms to block all of the inappropriate stuff.
There are kind of strange and disturbing videos targeting kids on YouTube. Noteworthy includes PeppaPig committing suicides, Spiderman drowsing Elsa, Minecraft characters shooting and killing each other, kids getting pranked, hurt, and traumatized, and pedophiles using toy unboxing videos to groom and target kids.
Do YouTube Kids Have Ads?
Yes, the free version of YouTube kids has ads. The free version means your children will encounter some ads on their videos, just like regular YouTube. However, you can eliminate ads by purchasing YouTube premium, which will eliminate ads and allow children to watch content offline. YouTube premium indicates, according to YouTube, that adverts are necessary to keep the website operating.
When a video is recently available on YouTube, the creator must specify if the content is appropriate for children to see and what prepared it with children in mind. But, of course, YouTube wants this information for more than just content filtration. Young audiences are in high demand from advertisers because they frequently persuade parents to make a small, one-time purchase.
Despite young users comprising a large portion of new YouTube users, they have taken significant steps to control the commercial influence of videos created specifically for kids. For example, on these videos, advertisers cannot provide click-through to outside websites. It is a nice feature because it keeps kids on the site and greatly reduces the risk that you find a confusing purchase. Moreover, YouTube also claims to remove any videos that are “overly commercial” or where the creator pays to promote a specific product or company.
How To Take Control Over YouTube Kids?
The default YouTube kids settings are sufficient for some parents, but you may want to take greater control over your child’s viewing options. If you want that type of control, the YouTube Kids app provides it.
Follow the below steps to take control over YouTube kids.
Step 1: Launch YouTube Kids
Firstly, you must launch the Youtube kids app on your child’s phone or device.
Step 2: Tap On Profile
Secondly, from the app home menu, tap on your child’s icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
Step 3: Add A Kid In Parent Settings
The next step is to tap on the add a kid in parent setting from your profile. The settings won’t add a kid but open up the parental controls.
Step 4: Tap On Submit
In the next process, answer the math question, tap on Submit, or create your passcode for future use.
Step 5: Tap Timer
Finally, you need to tap on a timer to set a timer on the app and limit your child’s screen time, or tap on Settings for more advanced controls.
Are There Content Filters On YouTube Kids?
No, there are not any content filters on YouTube Kids. However, you can limit the content your kids have access to by using the parental control options available. In addition, as already explained, you can allow only verified content from kid-friendly partners, which have been chosen and approved by a real person, not an algorithm.
Aside from that, the app displays videos based on the user’s history, age, and previously searched terms, regardless of how old or new they are. You will need to ban those videos as they appear if your kids still find things you don’t want them to watch.
You may whitelist the channels and movies your kids can watch on the app by turning on the “Approved Content Only” feature if you want to exert a little more control.
What Can Parents Control In YouTube Kids?
Well, within the parental controls section of YouTube kids, you can set the type of content your child is allowed to access, approve specific channels and videos, and also disable the videos search features.
If you wish to have complete control over what your child watches on the app, you have to approve each video manually or approve specific channels you trust.
Approving videos and channels manually also turns off the video search features. If you prefer to stick with YouTube’s age appropriation regarding recommendations, but you dont want your kids to use the search feature, you can switch it off manually. It helps to prevent your kids from accidentally running into inappropriate content due to an innocent typo.
[Note: be careful when you approve an entire channel, as channels can add new videos anytime. You may want to limit such approvals to content you trust, like Disney Junior and PBS Kids.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions.
What Is YouTube’s Built-In Parental Control?
A wide variety of “adult” content can get blocked by YouTube’s Restricted Mode, yet it’s surprisingly ineffective. For example, with Restricted Mode activated, I could locate well-known white nationalist speeches, images of a war-torn Aleppo, a cannabis cooking program, women in lingerie, and a nasty street fight in Colombia in approximately 5 minutes.
However, YouTube does provide parents with another choice YouTube Kid.
YouTube Kids is a separate app and website that provides various filtration levels. Although the app still has many weird, violent, sexual, and inappropriate videos, most of this content is blocked. However, you may disable the Search feature on YouTube Kids so children can only watch content real people have vetted.
How are ads reviewed and selected?
Although YouTube claims that its ads go through a “rigorous inspection procedure,” it is true that viewers can report offensive content through adverts. But it’s unclear if children know how to report inappropriate content or if they bother to do so. Moreover, it is more probable that a parent may overhear or see it.
Conclusion
A version of YouTube called YouTube Kids removes objectionable material and offers a watching experience appropriate for kids from preschool through preteens. It’s accessible through the official YouTube Kids website and an app for iOS and Android.
We hope you love our reading.
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