Google’s child-friendly version of YouTube is now available in 60 countries following a big expansion yesterday. On YouTube Kids, parents can create profiles, block content, and view playback history.
YouTube Kids expansion
YouTube Kids was launched in the US in February 2015 and has since been expanded to more regions. Yesterday, Google added 13 additional countries to the list, bringing the total up to 60 countries.
Yesterday’s expansion brought it to the following countries: Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Georgia, Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
YouTube Kids has been designed to be a safe environment for kids aged 3-12 years. The concept is to include child-friendly videos only with pre-screened advertisements. However, it has faced criticism in the past after problematic videos slipped through Google’s filters. One such video was showing Peppa Pig drinking bleach, while another had Mickey Mouse being run over by a car.
- “We use a mix of filters, user feedback and human reviewers to keep the videos in YouTube Kids family friendly. But no system is perfect and inappropriate videos can slip through, so we’re constantly working to improve our safeguards and offer more features to help parents create the right experience for their families,” Google said.
Google gives parents tools to approve or block content, create kid profiles, set the content level, and view playback history. The service is available on Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, and iOS as well as select Smart TVs from LG, Samsung, and Sony. More information is available on youtube.com/kids.
YouTube Kids has 14 million weekly users. Google added that it is working to expand the service to more countries.
YouTube Kids availability
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Mexico
Montenegro
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Thailand
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States
Vietnam
Zimbabwe |
