With the idea to make YouTube safer for children & parents, a standalone-app ‘YouTube Kids’ can lay all your worries to rest. Built for children to shower them with appropriate entertainment programs, YouTube Kids was announced on 23rd February 2015. This platform makes use of specialized algorithms which filters out content that contain extreme violence and gore.
But apart from all the nudity, violence and horror, even topics such as conspiracy theories could be deemed unsuitable for children viewing.
Due to these recent controversies surrounding YouTube Kids, the video streaming company prompt as a response with a decision to release its new version which will be completely algorithm free and be human-driven.
Are Humans Back In Demand?
In the world of Artificial Intelligence & other emerging technologies which are working at backend on every possible platform to make the user experience best. YouTube is probably taking a step backward but for the positive results by making use of humans for picking up accurate content which may be missed by algorithms. Company may have to employ lots of people to ensure the content quality is suitable & doesn’t cultivate wrong ideas & opinions in the minds of children.
YouTube is reportedly working on replacing Algorithms with Humans to protect the children from indulging into unsuitable content that floats on the surface but have sinister content. Previously working on algorithms which doesn’t performed “on mark” will be taken over by humans who will curate the content by themselves manually. This whitelisted version of App will deliver age-appropriate content to children. It will only display content from channels that a team of YouTube curators handpicked. This human curated YouTube Kids App will probably hit the market in coming weeks.
Till then we have listed some measures which you can imply to make YouTube or YouTube Kids a safer platform for video streaming.
Ways To Make YouTube or YouTube Kids Secure For Your Children?
With vast amount of content on YouTube ranging from reviews to music videos, there’s a good chance where your child can get exposed to some kind of video that he/she shouldn’t watch. While you are reading this, your kid may be glued to the phone screen somewhere in the house watching a random and nonsensical video. These videos are not exactly filtered & free from sexual & violent content which you don’t want your children to watch.
Here are few tips which can help you to make your kids consume good quality & safer content:
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Subscribe To Known Channels
Recognised brands carry rigorous standards of appropriateness, so it would be a great advice to follow channels which have value & quality. Some worthwhile channels are: Reading Rainbow, National Geographic Kids, Mother Goose Club, Talking Tom, Thomas The Tank Engine, DreamWorks TV, etc.
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Turn On Restricted Mode
In YouTube Kids, you have an option to disable the ability to search videos, by which you can limit the content for your kids. And according to google’s algorithm fewer videos will be served. Always remember that your children watch under restrictive mode, sop that they do not encounter any questionable content.
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Install Ad Blocker App
Download Ad Blocker App from Chrome Web Store, so that no explicit advertisement or content pops up in between, when your child is streaming videos.
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You Can Set Up Family Google Account Specifically For YouTube
Setting up a common account for watching videos on YouTube could be a very effective way to ensure what your kids are watching, subscribing & downloading. This way you can keep an eye and have a complete history of everything being uploaded, downloaded or viewed.
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Download Specific Network Apps
If your kids regularly watch shows from popular channels such as Nick Jr., Disney, Cartoon Network or other network apps, then you can also download channel specific apps. Go ahead and get rid of YouTube Apps and just download those specific network apps as these apps do not allow third party uploading. Hence, no fear of being exposed to inappropriate content.
Alternatives to YouTube Kids?
In the sea of fishes, YouTube Kids might be the biggest but not only app for video streaming for children. Subsequent are the video apps with stricter parental control, filtration of video channels & friendly features.
- BabyFirst Video – Toddler friendly content, focusing more on songs, colors, numbers, letters etc.
- Amazon FreeTime – Available on Android & Kindle Fire. Provide e-books, videos for kids aged 3-12.
- Cakey – Allows parents to preview & select videos for their children. It displays as preloaded collection, which parents can edit, remove, keep & select they want their kids to watch.
- Nick Jr. App – Friendly interface to watch Nick Jr. shows. Best for kids above age 3.
- KiddZtube – This app is geared toward kids younger than 9.
If this app gets successful, YouTube Kids could be a case study for how content will be policed on the Internet in the future, something that most companies are struggling with right now.