Along with revamped parental controls, YouTube Kids has announced a number of updates designed to better customize its young users’ experiences.
The updates includes kid profiles that allow children to customize their app use across all devices. Based on the date of birth entered on each user’s profile, YouTube Kids will change the way the app looks. Younger kids will also see less text, for example, while their older siblings will see more content on their home screens when they log into their profile. Kids can also set a secret passcode on their profile to keep their siblings out (the password can be overridden by a parent’s password).
There are also additional customization tools for parents. The app features a new setup process that provides information to help parents set the right controls for their family’s needs. Content that is not right for the app, for example, can be blocked and flagged for review, and an upcoming update will give parents the option to make more tween-skewing content available on the service.
The update is currently available in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, the US and Zimbabwe.
Launched in 2015, YouTube Kids provides a range of age-appropriate videos and channels–including content from Mattel’s Monster High, DC Kids, LEGO and Minecraft–with a focus on content for early literacy. Since its launch, YouTube Kids has grown to rack up more than 70 billion views in 37 countries, with more than 11 million active weekly users.
The YouTube Kids update comes shortly after YouTube was named as the most-loved brand among kids ages six to 12 in the US by the annual Brand Love study from youth and family research firm Smarty Pants. This marks the second year in a row that the Google-owned video platform took the top spot.