Inappropriate videos finding their way onto YouTube Kids last year was probably every parent's nightmare. Especially from an app that bills itself as safe for viewing by little ones. YouTube recently announced a few new YouTube Kids features that will help put parents' minds at ease.
The new key features YouTube recently announced will make it easier to trust that your kids won't be stumbling upon something they shouldn't:
- Search: YouTube Kids has always made it possible to turn the search function in the app off. But now, turning search off will also limit the videos seen in YouTube Kids to channels that have been verified by the app team.
- Collections: YouTube is making it possible for parents to choose from curated collections. The collections are created by the YouTube Kids team and their partners, which include PBS Kids and Sesame Street programming.
- Total Parental Control: And most important of all, while it hasn't rolled out yet, later this year parents will be able to personally choose every video and channel their children can watch on the app.
To change the available settings in YouTube Kids app, do the following:
- From any screen in the app, tap the Lock button in the bottom right corner.
- Enter the security passcode, whether's your own custom passcode or the numbers shown on the screen.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap the profile you want to restrict.
- You're going to toggle off Allow Searching and toggle on Approved Content Only.
- When you toggle on Approved Content Only, a window will open prompting you to select the collections you want your kids to watch.
If you're installing the YouTube Kids app for the first time, you'll also be given the choice to turn search off during set up.
YouTube Kids has continued to evolve over the years, adding new features, but it's not the only app offering kid-friendly content. The regular version of YouTube has channels suitable for kids. You can also try these YouTube alternatives for kids.
If you'd rather limit screen time, check out some kid-friendly podcasts or try the Guided Access feature on iPhone and iPad.