From the nursery-rhyme songs of ChuChuTV to DIY science experiment videos by Hooplakidz Lab, Indian families love singing along and learning from YouTube videos. That’s why for this year’s Children’s Day, we’re thrilled to be bringing the YouTube Kids app to India, an app built from the ground up with curious youngsters in mind. The standalone, family-friendly app makes it easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore, and is available for free on Google Play and the App Store in India starting today.
YouTube Kids unlocks an unparalleled library of kids and learning content from India and across the globe, and brings your favourite kids content front and center. When you open up the app, you’ll see popular kids videos in Hindi and English highlighted on the home screen. Of course, just like on the main YouTube app, you’ll be able to search for videos in various Indian languages, such as Telugu rhymes from Infobells and Tamil songs from Chellame Chellam, just to name a few.
Here’s what you’ll get with YouTube Kids:
Bright and playful design
Your child may already be a swiping expert, but the app’s design makes it even easier to follow the adventures of Little Krishna or learn from fun DIY arts & crafts videos from Mad Stuff with Rob. With larger images, bold icons and more, it’s 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’re pleased to announce that many of your favourite Indian YouTube creators will be adding new shows exclusive to YouTube for the Kids launch. These include new learning shows from ChuChuTV and Kids TV, a new season of "Cat & Keet", a popular chase comedy show by Toonz Animation, the Gummy Bear song in Hindi, and a new season of Appu - The Yogic Elephant. And of course, your kids can watch any series from all of the YouTube channels they already know and love. We’ll also be bringing in new guest-selected playlists from educators, celebrities, trusted names, and other parents in the coming weeks.
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 the structure of an atom on Exam Fear Videos or watch favourites from LittleBabyBum, Galli Galli Sim Sim, and Videogyan.
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.
- 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.
India already has a very diverse and rapidly-growing creator base for kids and learning, with watchtime of this category growing 100% year over year. Indian creators are hugely popular worldwide: for every view an Indian-made kids’ video gets at home, it receives nine overseas. We’re pleased that YouTube Kids will be able to provide the perfect platform to showcase India’s incredibly vibrant, growing community of content creators, from animation studios to edutubers. It will also open up more access to content that will enrich the lives of Indian families, and create new opportunities for learning for your precious kids.
So from all of us at YouTube, we wish you a Happy Children’s Day — and enjoy!
Posted by Don Anderson, father of two and Head of Kids and Learning Partnerships, YouTube Asia Pacific, recently watched Appu Demonstrates Patience.