YouTube Kids facts for kids
Logo as of 2019
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Homepage screenshot
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Type of site
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Video hosting service |
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| Founded | February 14, 2015 |
| Headquarters | 901 Cherry Avenue San Bruno, California, United States
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| Area served | Worldwide (excluding blocked countries) |
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| Parent | Google (through YouTube LLC) |
| Advertising | Google AdSense |
| Current status | active |
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Content license
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Proprietary |
YouTube Kids is a special video app and website. It was made by YouTube, which is part of Google. This app is designed just for children. It offers videos that are chosen carefully for kids. It also has tools that let parents control what their children watch. The app filters out videos that might not be right for kids under 13. This follows a law called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. This law helps keep kids' information private online. It stops the regular YouTube app from using information about kids under 13 for ads.
YouTube Kids first came out on February 15, 2015. It was an app for Android and iOS phones and tablets. Since then, it has become available on many smart TVs, like those from LG, Samsung, and Sony. It also works on Android TV and Apple TV. By September 2019, the app was available in 69 countries. YouTube also launched a website version of YouTube Kids on August 30, 2019.
Some groups have shared concerns about YouTube Kids. They worried about ads shown in the app. They also worried about videos that the app's system suggested. Sometimes, these suggested videos were not right for kids. This led to a situation where some disturbing videos were linked to children's characters. Because of these concerns, YouTube said it would work harder. They promised to review and filter out such videos when people reported them. This helps make sure these videos are not available in the YouTube Kids app.
Contents
What YouTube Kids Offers
YouTube Kids has different parts to help kids find videos. These parts are "Recommended", "Shows", "Music", and "Learning". Each part has videos that are picked to be good for children.
Content Categories
The app divides videos into four main groups.
- Recommended: This section shows videos that the app thinks you might like. It learns from what you watch.
- Shows: Here you can find episodes of different TV shows for kids.
- Music: This part is for music videos that are kid-friendly.
- Learning: This section has videos that help you learn new things. These videos often cover topics like science, math, and more.
Special Features
In August 2016, YouTube Kids added support for YouTube Red. This service is now called YouTube Premium. If you have YouTube Premium, you can watch videos without ads. You can also play videos in the background while using other apps. Plus, you can download videos to watch them later without internet.
YouTube also started making its own shows for YouTube Kids. These shows include DanTDM Creates a Big Scene and Kings of Atlantis. The app also features special playlists for learning. For example, "#ReadAlong" helps promote reading. "#TodayILearned" features videos about STEM topics. There was also "Make it Healthy, Make it Fun". This project worked with basketball players Marc and Pau Gasol. It aimed to teach kids about healthy living and being active.
Different Age Groups
In November 2017, the app got new ways to look at things. These were made for different age groups. There was a simple look for younger children. There was also a more detailed look for older children.
In September 2018, YouTube added more age options for content. These were "Younger" and "Older".
- The "Younger" setting kept the same mix of content as before.
- The "Older" setting added more videos from other types. These included nature, gaming, and music.
In August 2019, the "Younger" setting was split. A new "Preschool" group was added. This group focuses on videos that encourage creativity, play, learning, and exploring.
Parental Controls
The YouTube Kids app has settings that help parents. These are called parental controls. Parents can use them to:
- Limit screen time: They can set a timer for how long kids can watch.
- Restrict search: They can turn off the search tool. This means kids can only watch videos from the main categories.
Parents can protect these settings with a passcode or their Google Account. They can also set up different profiles for each child. This way, each child gets a viewing experience that is right for them.
See also
In Spanish: YouTube Kids para niños
- Vine Kids, an app with a similar idea that was part of Vine
