YouTube Kids updated with new parental controls, customisation features

Google rolled out a major update to its kids-friendly video streaming service YouTube Kids. The update primarily focuses on giving parents more control on the content as well as a revamped UI of the application.

Celebrating its first anniversary in India, the update puts parents position of higher control of the content their children in the age group of 2 to 10 years are accessing.

The video application will now let parents create separate profiles for each of their kids and choose between younger or older content levels to manage the types of videos they can watch.

"We're delighted to bring the updated premium experience tailored to kid's age with parents still in charge. We look forward to the next phase of growth with popular Indian language kids content scaling in India and abroad," Don Anderson, Head of Family and Learning Partnerships, YouTube, said.

More in the update, now the kids can also protect their profiles with a passcode, presumably from their siblings, but parents can still override it.

According to the company, the user interface has also been improved with a new setup process that will give parents detailed information to help them make the right choices before the kids use the app.

The child-oriented video service was launched last year catering to the growing demand for kids content with Indian creators like Hooplakidz and Chu Chu TV along with some of the global creators.

"It has been an incredible year of growth and adoption of YouTube Kids in India. With improved connectivity and affordable data plans, we have seen enormous growth in creation and consumption of learning and educational content in India, making India the fastest growing YouTube kids country in Asia Pacific," Anderson said.