MANILA — YouTube has launched YouTube Kids in the Philippines — an app built with parents and children in mind that makes it easier for kids to find videos on topics they want to explore. Since YouTube Kids launched in over 14 countries, it’s been downloaded tens of millions of times by families who rate it among the top five kids apps available. We’re pleased to bring it to families in the Philippines, and it’s now available to download for free on Google Play and the App Store. Built from the ground up with little ones in mind, the free Kids app makes it easy for children to find videos on topics they want to explore.
Here are some of the key features:
Bright and playful design
The app’s kid-friendly design makes it even easier to find Little Baby Bum or the latest video of In The Night Garden. With larger images and bold icons, YouTube Kids is fast and simple for little thumbs to navigate. And we’ve built in voice search so that even if your child can’t spell or type, they can still find videos of things they’re curious about.
Family-focused content
We’ve built the YouTube Kids app to be a more family-friendly version of YouTube, a place for kids to explore their imagination and curiosity. You can browse channels and playlists in four categories: Shows, Music, Learning and Explore. Search for videos of particular interest to your family, like why penguins waddle on National Geographic Kids, or watch favorites from Thomas and Friends, Wallace and Gromit, and Reading Rainbow. And of course, your kids can watch new series from YouTube channels they already like.
Parental controls
We’ve built options into the app that help you control the experience for your kids and put parents in the driver’s seat.
Learn how the app works: When parents open YouTube Kids, they learn upfront how our systems choose and recommend content and how to flag videos. We always try to make the videos available in the app family-friendly, but no system is perfect. So if you ever find a video you’re concerned about, please flag it. This helps make YouTube Kids better for everyone.
Search settings: We’ll 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: Let the app be the bad guy with a built-in timer that lets you limit kids’ screen time. The app alerts your child when the session is over, so you don’t have to. (You’re welcome. 😉
Sound settings: Sometimes you need a little peace and quiet! You have an option to turn off background music and sound effects, so your kids can keep watching while parents catch a breath.
Custom 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.
Don Anderson, Head of Kids and Learning Partnerships, YouTube Asia Pacific, said, “As a father of two young children, I’ve had first-hand exposure to the power of video and how it can enrich a child’s life, whether it is through listening to nursery rhymes, or accessing math and science content, or a host of other topics that entertain and engage. YouTube Kids is our first step in reimagining YouTube for families, an experience that gives you a world of video in your pockets, and a world of possibility and knowledge at your fingertips. We’re excited to see how YouTube Kids will better help your family explore, learn, and sing along.”
It’s easy to get started using the YouTube Kids app. When parents open the app for the first time, we explain how our systems choose and recommend content and how to flag videos. We 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 can decide the right experience for their family from the get-go.
We’re so excited to bring YouTube Kids to the Philippines, and look forward to your ideas so that we can better help your family explore, learn and sing along. Enjoy!
