Nine months after it was released in the United States, the YouTube Kids app from Google is crossing the Atlantic and will launch its service in the United Kingdom and Ireland. (Photo : YouTube)
Google is now rolling out a paid option for the YouTube Kids service that kills off the annoying and sometimes controversial advertisements inside the app through the YouTube Red service.
The search engine giant recently announced that their YouTube Red service will now extend to the YouTube Kids app, which allows parents to let their children safely watch toons and other shows designed for kids. The app restricts what children can search for and view on YouTube as not to expose them to violence, nudity or rude language.
One of the problems when YouTube Kids was released is that there were often a lot of advertisements. There was also an issue where the advertising was not even oriented for children which often meant that it defeated the purpose of the app itself.
YouTube Kids is now bundled with Google's paid YouTube Red subscription program which removes all of the advertisements from the apps, TechCrunch has learned. Besides the removal of the ads, the YouTube Kids app will now be able to download videos for offline viewing too.
Another nifty feature is that the app will now be able to play the videos even in the background. It means that children can listen to their music on the YouTube Kids app even if they are playing games on another app.
Google's YouTube Red subscription will cost $10 for parents who wish to have those features on their YouTube Kids app, PC Magazine reported. Unfortunately, the service is not yet available across the globe.
Users in the United States, Australia and New Zealand will be the only ones currently able to acquire of Google's YouTube Red subscription service. Those who have already signed up for the subscription can head over to the YouTube Kids app to activate their account in order to avail all of the features.
Parents who do not want to pay for a subscription may want to try the YouTube Red service first as Google offers a 30-day trial for free. Afterwards, they can decide whether the service is indeed worth it for their children who are using the YouTube Kids app.
