One of biggest fears that parents of young children have while they on mobile and tablet devices is they may be exposed to material that may be mature in nature. In fact, due to this fear, many parents avoid giving their kids these mobile devices altogether. YouTube is one of the main mobile apps that children want to access to see educational or entertainment videos.
It seems that Google is making good on its promise to have child-safe products this year, starting with probably the most engaging one of all: YouTube. A colourful and limited new YouTube app will be debuting to help give parents a bit of peace of mind, not to mention more control, over their kids’ online viewing activities.
It is expected to be free and will be separate from the mainstream YouTube mobile app. It will feature kid-friendly design, with big, bulbous icons and minimal scrolling. It will have four simple icons – shows, music, learning and explore which will let kids browse through the videos. It also has search icons from where kids can search for their favourite videos. The app is said to include features for parents as well, such as a timer they can use to limit how much video children are able to watch.
The app will ship with content from a range of partners from the entertainment industry, including Jim Henson TV, DreamWorks, National Geographic, and a range of high-profile YouTubers. It is understood Google is also working on children-friendly versions of Chrome and other services, too.
