YouTube Kids

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YouTube Kids' current logo

YouTube Kids is a American kids video site developed by YouTube, intended to provide safe access to YouTube for kids under the age of 13. It is designed to filter out explicit or adult content^[1], as well as providing a simpler, kid-friendly layout that is easier to use.^[2]

YouTube Kids was first released to the public on February 10, 2015 for Android and iOS mobile devices^[3], and was developed and distributed by Google LLC. It has since been released for other devices including Samsung, LG, and Sony Smart TVs. A web-based version for browsers was launched on August 26, 2020.^[4]

The site displays channels that are manually selected by YouTube, in an effort to prevent inappropriate videos disguised as children’s content (also referred to as Elsagate), that was an issue for several years on the main YouTube site.^[5]

Features[]

Basic Features[]

Watch history: Lists the videos that all kid profiles have watched.
Watch on TV: Allows casting to TV.
YouTube Shorts: Shorts can be viewed through YouTube Kids, but cannot be filtered directly. They also appear as a regular longform video instead of a Short.
Recommended: The recommended appears after watching 3 videos. It functions mostly like the main YouTube recommended, but only with approved videos.
Progress Bar: The progress bar allows people to scrub through a video.^[6] On YouTube Kids, it does not show a preview, popular rewatch times, or chapters.

Parental Controls[]

Kid profiles: Users can create up to eight kid profiles, each with their own viewing preferences, video recommendations, and settings.
Blocking channels: Videos or channels can be blocked to automatically remove the content from all kids’ profiles. If the profile uses the same Google Account for YouTube and YouTube Kids, any channels blocked on YouTube will also be blocked on YouTube Kids. Blocking a channel only blocks content uploaded to that specific channel. It doesn't block videos that are reuploaded on other channels, or similar channels with related content.^[7]
Search control: Search can be turned on so kids can access more videos, or off for a more contained experience.
Timer: A timer can be set up to put limits on how long kids can use the app.
Video reporting: Reports videos that are inappropriate for the service's age range. These reports alert YouTube immediately. The video will be sent to YouTube for fast review.^[8]
Limited Search: Search only lists 23 items at a time.
Disabled Comments: Video comments cannot be viewed; likewise, community posts and their comments cannot be viewed either.^{[Note 1]}

Criticism[]

Inappropriate Content[]

Many articles have pointed out that, despite the described filtering of YouTube Kids, they still have found inappropriate videos on the site.^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] YouTube, since releasing the Kids site, has not done much to address or fix these problems. The only fixes have come from excessive governmental action, including by COPPA and the European Union.^[13]

Commercial advertising[]

YouTube Kids has been criticized by various advocacy groups, particularly the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, for concerns surrounding the app's use of commercial advertising. In the first versions of YouTube Kids, ads would play uninterrupted from the rest of the video, which these groups argued would make it extremely hard for children to tell between entertainment and advertisements. In response, YouTube updated the app with two-second long bumpers, which disclosed the start and end of a commercial. These have continued to be used.

Gallery[]

Logos[]

Screenshots[]

Other[]

Animations[]

Videos[]

A collection of commercial bumpers from the app, displayed between 2015-2017.	A collection of the current app intros.
An example of a video that may be recommended on YouTube Kids.	(Flashing lights) A collection of current commercial bumpers from the service.

Trivia[]

If 'YouTube Kids' is searched up on the search page, it will show popular and recommended videos, much like main YouTube.
- If 'YouTube Kids' is searched up on main YouTube, it will show an assortment of popular kids videos.
The "Gaming" section only appears on profiles set to 9 and older. In others, it will be replaced by the "Learning" tab.
The current YouTube Kids mascots are given names and appear in many places throughout the app, but have no publicity outside of that, except for one product in the Google Shop.^[14]
- The original face from 2015-18 has no branding or recognition attached to it, though in the files of the YouTube Kids app from that era, he is referred to as "dood". This is likely just referring to the doodle style of his face instead of being a solid name.
  - Many pieces of fan work and videos about this mascot call them "Tubey".^[15]
  - The application also features imagery of a specific llama, with no name.
The developer icon is referred to internally as "dogfood". There are also other variants, called "fishfood" and "catfood" respectively.
The YouTube Kids website still uses the channel ID system instead of the newer user handle system. This has a practical use; making sure that even though a channel may change their handle, it can be blocked through the ID, which cannot be changed.

Notes[]

Not every video marked "Made for Kids" is playable within YouTube Kids.

External Links[]

References[]

[1] ttps://abcnews.go.com/Technology/youtube-kids-parents-app/story?id=29164483

[2] ttps://www.wired.com/2015/02/youtube-kids/

[3] ttps://blog.youtube/news-and-events/youtube-kids/

[4] ttps://support.google.com/youtube/thread/12980033/youtube-kids-app-is-now-available-on-the-web-at-www-youtubekids-com?hl=en

[5] ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39381889

[6] ttps://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7174115?hl=en

[7] ttps://support.google.com/youtubekids/answer/7178746

[8] ttps://support.google.com/youtubekids/answer/6130562

[9] ttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/business/media/youtube-kids-paw-patrol.html

[10] ttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/17/peppa-pig-youtube-weird-algorithms-automated-content

[11] ttps://www.thechildrensmediafoundation.org/archives/3588/youtube-kids

[12] ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/42958126

[13] ttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/17/peppa-pig-youtube-weird-algorithms-automated-content

[14] ttps://your.merch.google/brands/youtube/youtube-kids.html

[15] ttps://www.deviantart.com/tubeyyoutube/art/Youtube-Kids-Face-Mascot-Tubey-1194917645

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