New Parental Controls on YouTube Kids Lets You Monitor Screen Time
If you’re a parent of young kids, you are well aware of their generation’s YouTube infatuation. It’s incredible how well children know their way around the site, and although there are some major benefits to the easy-access entertainment, parents have continually stressed that the app is a too much of a free-for-all. Thankfully, YouTube has recognized youngster’s accessibility to inappropriate content and are making good on their promises to up their YouTube Kids security measures.
In an official blog post issued by YouTube, the company explains their two latest updates: parent-approved content and a new experience for older kids.
The parent-approved content enables parents to choose every single YouTube video and channel available to their children. Parents, just head to your app settings, go to the child’s profile and select “approved content only.” Now you are free to specify your child’s screen time by pressing the “+” button. This feature is available globally on Android and is coming soon to iOS.
“YouTube Kids is growing up with our users,” the blog post reads as it announces the second new feature focused toward kids ages 8 to 12. Once parents feel their kids are old enough, they can switch their settings to the “Older” version on a new or existing profile. While the “Younger” experience is a prefixed selection of age-appropriate sing-alongs and learning videos the “Older” option lifts some restrictions while still selecting age-appropriate videos geared toward their interests. (Music videos and video game content for example.)
“We work hard to make videos in the app family friendly, but no system is perfect. It’s always possible that a parent may find something they don’t want their child to watch in the “Younger” or “Older” experiences,” the blog post states. “If this happens, we ask that parents block and flag the video for review by our team. This makes YouTube Kids better for everyone.”
Understandably, the tech world has far surpassed our abilities to create positive restrictions in a timely matter, so it is important for companies such as YouTube to take responsibility and work efficiently to protect our children. We are hopeful that these new features are a major step in the right direction.
