It’s been over a year and a half since Google announced its YouTube Kids app in the U.S. and it looks like Google is finally ready to launch it here in Malaysia. YouTube Kids, as its name suggests, is a kids-friendly version of YouTube that makes it easier and safer for children to watch videos that they are interested in like Upin & Ipin, BoBoiBoy, and more.
YouTube Kids feature a completely new minimalist design to help children to explore around. Search for shows, explore educational content, listen to kids tunes, or find videos about learning. Kids can also search for the videos they want using the voice search feature, perfect for those who can’t spell or type.
What makes YouTube Kids great is that it has a set of parental controls so parents can control and monitor what their children do in the app. Parents can restrict what their kids watch by disabling the search function, set a timer so their children don’t spend the entire day staring at a gadget, and even turn off background music and sound effects so when you’re out in a restaurant, you won’t disturb other patrons.
Introduced back in February 2015, YouTube Kids is “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind”. Sure, the main YouTube app (and web) already has a Restriction Mode that lets you filter out inappropriate contents, but since “no filter is 100% accurate”, using an app dedicated for children is a safer option. Google stresses that YouTube Kids is not perfect, which is why it recommend parents to flag videos that they are concerned about so YouTube Kids can improve and be better for everyone.
Other features available on YouTube Kids include:
- Custom Passcode: Parents have the ability to set their own passcode, and to access settings and other parental information in the app
- YouTube Kids on the big screen: You can now also watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smart TV
YouTube Kids is now available for download for iOS and Android devices, so check out your respective app stores to get the app now. Once done, do open up the app to learn more about YouTube Kids so you can set it up properly for your children. The setup process is relatively quick and you can even set the “home screen age level” (preschool or of school age) so YouTube can make appropriate recommendations.
You can download YouTube Kids now from the Play Store and App Store.
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