Google Launches YouTube Kids App in India on Children’s Day; Brings Variety of Parental Controls

By Abhishek Joshi Last updated Nov 14, 2016

YouTube is becoming very popular in India, as a lot of content around the world has started to focus on China and India. Google launched YouTube Gaming and YouTube Red this year and has a bigger plans for India now.

On the occasion of Children’s Day, Google has decided to make its YouTube Kids app available in India starting 9th November. The standalone, family-friendly app makes it easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore, and is available for free on Google Play and theApp Store in India.

When you open up the app, you’ll see popular kids videos in Hindi and English highlighted on the home screen. Just like on the main YouTube app, you’ll be able to search for videos in various Indian languages, such as Telugu rhymes from Infobells and Tamil songs from Chellame Chellam, just to name a few.

Of course, this won’t stop kids from accessing regular YouTube and the content there, but an app for kids will make them curious and more attracted to this service. It will be like browsing on YouTube and the UI has been kept simple as well.

Google has integrated some strict Parental controls:

YouTube doesn’t come with any parental controls, but YouTube Kids, specially designed for kids, should have some controls and the company has done a decent job in providing those.

Learn how the app works: When parents open YouTube Kids, they learn upfront how the systems choose and recommend content and how to flag videos. So if you ever find a video you’re concerned about, you can flag it.
Search settings: The app will also prompt you to make a choice about how broadly you want your child to explore – turn search on to access millions of family-friendly videos, or turn search off to restrict your child’s experience to a more limited set. Either way, parents decide the right experience for their family from the get-go.
Timer: You can set the timer to allow your kid to access YouTube for a specific period of time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to.
Sound settings: You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while parents can relax.
Passcode: Parents have the ability to set their own passcode, and to access settings and other parental information in the app.
YouTube Kids on the big screen: You can now also watch YouTube Kids as a family on your big screen using Chromecast, Apple TV, game consoles or a smart TV

As more and more creators get their content online, the more revenue it would generate. A lot of Indian YouTubers are not basing their content on viewers from other nation, and there is a whole lot of content specifically for kids.

Exactly like you would expect for kids, the app display is bigger, font is bigger and friendlier to look at, incorporates voice search, and has more family focused content. There are cartoons, science education channels and general education channels on the app, that could possibly replace such channels on the television.

YouTube is a great place to learn if used wisely, and if this can help your kid become a well-rounded person then the app is the best possible method for that. Do download the app on your smartphone from the Play Store and let us know in the comment section below if you think it can make a difference.

Source: Google