YouTube To Offer Kid-Friendly Mobile Video Service
Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Internet video giant YouTube will launch its kids’ mobile video service on Feb. 23.
The YouTube Kids service, which is owned by Google, will be available for the Android platform and is only for use in the U.S. As of this moment, content partners include National Geographic, DreamWorks, Jim Henson TV and YouTube Stars that have kid-friendly videos.
Shimrit Ben-Yair, group product manager, said parents were always asking them if YouTube could become a place kids could use.
He said family viewing has had significant growth for YouTube, with family channels getting an increase of 200 percent. (YouTube viewing growth has measured around 50 percent).
The app will offer parental control features like a timer so parents can shut off the device after a certain period of time and password protection. The timer feature is something seen with other platforms such as the Amazon Kindle Fire e-reader. Should a child type in an inappropriate phrase or word, the message “try something else” will appear on the screen.
Common Sense Media, a parent-control and child online safety organization helped it the development of the app and tested it out.
The app is going to have a user interface that ensures easy to find content as well curated options such as playlists and dedicated channels. It also has a streamline view, which means user comments are not visible when the kids are online and large tiles that makes for easier clicking in content areas – great for kids’ fine motor skills.
Ben-Yar said the big images are great for small fingers, and because most kids can’t type, they can search using their voice.
There are several simple icons on the home screen:
- Radio for music videos
- TV set for popular programs
- Binoculars to search videos
- Light bulk for education programs
This is also an ad-supported mobile video app, although there is a potential premium paid version being developed. A policy team will approve ads on the kid-friendly YouTube to be geared toward family. They will also not be the kinds of ads that can be clicked on and taken to an external website.
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