YouTube Kids debuts next week to focus on family entertainment, elearning

With a new app in the pipeline, YouTube is gearing up to tap into the online family entertainment sector, which is reportedly showing four times more growth in viewership than your average YouTube video.

The new Android app called YouTube Kids, to be launched on 23 February, will feature a simple-to-use interface that rids the viewer of trolls a comments section, among other potential distractions.

There will also be a parental-control feature, but instead of just filtering certain content, adults will be able to limit the screen time their kiddies spend with the app. When time runs out, the app asks for a password.

The Google-owned company has been the launchpad for educational platforms like the elearning initiative, Khan Academy, as well as NSFW viral music videos like Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda. Just last week we wrote about the porn found in the repository that has become YouTube.

Read more: Whoops! YouTube discovers hidden porn in Irish language videos

Considering that over 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, it’s hard to keep a tab on what’s valuable and what’s brain-dead, especially when it comes to children.

According to USA Today, who first broke the story, YouTube family entertainment shows four times stronger growth than the overall average viewing time.

“Parents were constantly asking us, can you make YouTube a better place for our kids,” Shimrit Ben-Yair, the project’s group product manager, told USA Today. “[Year over year] we’ve seen 50% growth in viewing time on YouTube, but for our family entertainment channels, it’s more like 200%.”

USA Today says that the YouTube Kids demo presents the user with entertainment shows such as Thomas the Tank Engine and Yo Gabba Gabba alongside popular elearning channels such as Khan Academy.