Google Launches YouTube Kids App, New Family-Friendly Service For Android And iOS

The new app is free and it provides a mixture of TV shows, educational videos, music and more – all these for children.

It will filter out inappropriate content, hide comments on videos. The YouTube Kids app is already available in the US for Android and for iOS devices, and the company intends to roll it out elsewhere in the future. The app will be free and funded by advertising, although YouTube says it will be carefully screening ads to ensure they are appropriate for children.

YouTube Kids groups videos into four categories: shows, music, learning and explore. Shows focuses on videos from familiar children’s TV brands like Sesame Street and Thomas and Friends; Music includes videos from nursery-rhyme channels like Mother Goose Club; and Learning gathers educational videos.

Explore, meanwhile, will collect videos from other children’s channels on YouTube, from Minecraft gamers like Stampy to cooking and loom-band tutorials. “All the content that kids know and love on YouTube is here,” said Ben-Yair, product manager.

In the UK, meanwhile, communications regulator Ofcom’s latest research suggests that more than half of 8-11 year-olds and three quarters of 12-15 year-olds watch YouTube, with a growing proportion of them saying they prefer YouTube to traditional TV. [via theguardian.com]

More details on official Google Blog