Google will launch a new app that will make its video streaming platform a more suitable place for kids. The free app called YouTube Kids will be available for Android users in the United States on Feb. 23, Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The app has a simple-to-use interface, free from distracting elements like viewer comments. It also has a colorful design that is attractive for children.
YouTube Kids features eight large tiles that show images of popular kids TV shows like "Sesame Street" and "Thomas the Tank Engine." In addition to search, the homepage also has four simple icons, namely a TV set for kids shows, a radio for popular songs rendered in video, a light bulb for educational programs like "Khan Academy" and binoculars for kids to explore top videos.
Mother Goose Club, Reading Rainbow, DreamWorks TV, Jim Henson TV, National Geographic and The Jim Henson Company will also be contributing content to the new app, Gigaom said. These content are mostly shorter web videos rather than full episodes, the site adds.
In addition to a curated roster of kids' shows, the app includes parental controls like a timer that allows parents to limit their child's screen time and turns off the device when the time is up. The app will also filter certain search terms like "sex" so that when a child searches for these, a message will prompt the kid to search for something else.
Family-oriented shows are doing very well on YouTube. According to Shimrit Bey-Yair, the project's group product manager, YouTube has seen a 50% increase in viewing time in the site overall, but for family entertainment channels the growth is more like 200%, USA Today reported.
Yair adds that parents have also been constantly asking them to make YouTube a "better place" for kids. This is because despite the many great and professionally made videos for kids available on the site, parents still have to filter them from the many inappropriate videos.