Google Owned video-sharing website YouTube is set to launch a new Android app for kids!
YouTube has confirmed to The Verge that the video-sharing website will release a new app designed exclusively for kids on Monday, Feb. 23.
The app called, "YouTube Kids" will run on smartphones as well as tablets and could also feature original episodes of popular television shows for pre-schoolers, besides content from numerous kid-safe channels already featured on YouTube, according to a source familiar with the matter.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the free app will be separated from the mainstream YouTube mobile app and will sport kid-friendly design with big, bulbous icons and minimal scrolling, the source revealed. The app is believed to also include parents-oriented features such as timer, to limit how much video kids are able to watch.
The Verge notes that the app will initially be available on Android smartphone and tablets only. As far as the design is concerned, The Verge states it's home screen has large tiles featuring images from popular TV shows and four simple icons, i.e. shows, music, learning and explore, which will let kids browse through top videos. In addition, families too can search through the app's list of approved content such as videos created by National Geographic Kids, Thomas & Friends, LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow and the puppetmasters at the Jim Henson Company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the company intends to announce the new app on Monday, when YouTube executive Malik Ducard is expected to give the keynote address at Kidscreen Summit, a conference for the children's entertainment industry.
The search giant, Google, will have to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which is overseen by the Federal Trade Commission. COPPA rules also require websites that cater to kids to notify parents if they collect personal details. According to a source, it is still not clear how the new app will generate money for Google-owned YouTube, implying that it is unclear how content partner will make money too, despite the fact that YouTube is believed to be paying to produce original shows that are expected to be included.
According to YouTube, the age-appropriate app is something that has been requested for a long time.
Product manager Shimrit Ben-Yair told USA Today, "Parents were constantly asking us, can you make YouTube a better place for our kids."
Videos aimed at kids have an emerging audience online; Ben-Yair says family entertainment channels have seen 200 percent growth in viewing time year-on-year, as opposed to 50 percent on the rest of the site. The probability of YouTube Kids featuring ads was under discussion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The app release plan comes as YouTube is spinning off chunks of its network and repackaging them as paid services.
In November, the company announced YouTube Music Key, a subscription service that lets users stream high-quality and ad-free music.
