YouTube to launch kids app
Move over, millennials and teens, YouTube’s got a new audience it’s trying to woo: kids.
The Google-owned video platform confirmed on Thursday that it is launching an app that allows younger audiences to find age-appropriate videos on topics they want to explore.
The YouTube Kids App, available on Google Play and Android beginning on Feb. 23 for free, focuses on content for early literacy.
YouTube partnered with family advocacy groups and NGOs to have them test the app in advance. The app includes parental controls so adults can monitor watch time of videos and turn sound or search on videos on and off.
Channels and playlists -- which feature tutorials, songs and other family-focused content -- are organized into four categories: show, music, learning and explore. Content will include videos from Jim Henson TV, DreamWorks TV, National Geographic Kids, Reading Rainbow and popular YouTubers.
USA Today and the Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
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