YouTube will launch a new app specifically for children in a bid to make using the service safer.
YouTube Kids will have parental controls and restrictions on who can upload content. The kids app will run separately to the main YouTube service and it will initially be available only in the US, but it will be rolled-out in the UK later on.
YouTube will curate kid-friendly content provided by shows such as Sesame Street, TuTiTuTV, Reading Rainbow, Thomas The Tank Engine, Yo Gabba Gabba, Talking Tom, National Geographic Kids, Jim Henson TV, Pocoyo and Dreamworks TV. LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow fame will create an exclusive original series on YouTube Kids called uTech, which will focus on next generation technologies.
YouTube has been planning YouTube Kids for months now. The app is being put together by YouTube’s in-house engineers and several third-party organizations . YouTube Kids will have a timer that can be controlled by parents to shut down the app after a certain amount of time. To prevent kids from seeing profanity, comments have been disabled.
YouTube is not the only video service that launched a child-friendly service recently. Last month, Twitter launched the Vine Kids app and has received positive feedback since then.
