
Kids these days are well versed with gadgets and YouTube is their favorite place to watch content. While they can search content and even learn things on YouTube, there is also the big bad world of videos you would like your kids to stay away from. Until now, you didn't had many options but YouTube Kids is a great app addressing such issues. Here is our review of the YouTube Kids app.
First things first - This isn't just any regular app and requires a grown up to set it up. The app first asks you to enter the codes mentioned in the app and then directs how to connect to YouTube Kids. While the app shares some basic information, it also throws three options about the kind of videos the kids would love to watch - the options include preschool, school age or all kids.
This is a well thought about app as parental control gives access to a lot many other options starting with the timer. A parent can select for how long the kid can continue to watch videos on YouTube kids. It ranges from one minute to two hours. And as the time gets over, kids will not be able to do anything with the app. Even closing the app and relaunching it won't work as one has to either increase the time or cancel the timer. Parents can even turn off the app music or sound effects or cast option. There is also an option of turning off the search within the app. When the search is turned on, the kid will be able to search new content on their own and the app learns and starts recommending videos on the home screen based on the searched and played videos. But when turned off, the options will be limited to the videos on the home screen. Controlling settings is easy as parents can set up their passcode, making it difficult for the kids to change the app settings.
The YouTube Kids app has got a completely different look and feel and kids will connect with the app instantly. The app is divided into four tabs - shows, music, learning and explore. The app has got a horizontal orientation and on an 5.7inch iPhone 7Plus, only two frames were visible. I was able to check more videos by swiping my finger on the screen. The videos played seamlessly on the app but the app didn't work smoothly over low bandwidth including Edge. There are a number of videos in English as well as in Hindi language. However, if your kids loves to watch the same video over and over again, there isn't any way to save it in offline mode. Some of the videos had ads too - currently most of them were YouTube kids ads only.
Discovering new content is actually child's play. They always have an option to type but younger kids can simply tap on the microphone icon and say what they want to watch. For instance, I tried a few search options such as Barbie, Doraemon and it instantly came up with the results.
YouTube Kids is aimed to offer a safer YouTube experience using automated systems to choose content from the broader universe of videos.The app has been designed to exclude content that is not appropriate for the kids. However, YouTube doesn't review all the videos manually and parents can flag off such videos within the app.
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