YouTube Kids is now available to families all across the region

So many parents use YouTube on a daily basis to educate and entertain. While the app has an immense amount of content, as a parent you need to keep a constant eye on what your child is watching. To solve this very issue, in 2015 YouTube Kids was launched. Today, the app has over 35 million weekly viewers, is available in 90 countries (in 38 languages) and is the top kids app in six countries including the USA, UK and France. 

Now YouTube Kids is finally making it’s way to  15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including the UAE. 

The YouTube Kids app is now available in Arabic and is also available in other languages including  English and French on the Google Play Store and the App Store  or on their browser via https://www.youtubekids.com/.

What is YouTube Kids? 

YouTube Kids was created as a separate free video-streaming service to make it easier for children to view content as well as for parents to be able to keep an easy eye on what their children are consuming. Visually the app is quite different for YouTube but functionally it basically does the same thing. 

YouTube Kids delivers enriching and entertaining content for kids under 13:

Preschool (ages 4 & under) is designed to allow kids to watch videos that promote creativity, playfulness, learning, & exploration. 

Younger (ages 5-7) is designed to allow kids to explore their interests and search for a wide variety of topics, including songs, cartoons, crafts, & more. 

Older (ages 8-12) is designed to allow kids with growing independence to search & explore additional music videos, gaming, family vlogs, science, and more.

How is content added? 

YouTube Kids was created from the ground up to be a family-friendly place for kids to explore their imagination and curiosity. Videos available in YouTube Kids are determined by a mix of algorithmic filtering, user input and human review. 

The app has strict policies regarding the inclusion and exclusion of content on YouTube Kids. Their policies were developed based on feedback from parents and in consultation with experts. The app also uses automated filters, which take these content policies into account, to identify family-friendly content for inclusion in the app. 

What kind of controls do parents have? 

YouTube Kids offers a range of parental controls so that every family can have the experience that is right for them. 

Some of the helpful features are: 

Individualised profiles: This allows parents to create separate profiles for their children. This means that children of different ages and interests will have a separate set of viewing preferences and recommendations.

Handpick Content: ‘Parent approved content’ mode allows parents to select individual videos and channels to make available  for their child.

Turn off search: With Search off, your child can’t search for videos, and is limited to videos from a set of channels.

Built-in timer: With its integrated timer, parents can easily limit the viewing time for their children. The application will notify the child once their session is over.

Block Channels or Content: Parents can choose to block specific channels or content with the click of a button.

In the case where parents find a video that concerns them, they can easily report it, and help us to constantly improve the platform.

To download the app, visit: 

Google Play Store: http://goo.gle/3vO4dLn

Apple App Store: http://goo.gle/3d05x5n