A ‘New Choice' For Parents Of Pre-Teens And Teens On YouTube

This generation of pre-teens and teens has grown up online, and it’s where they go to learn, laugh, and connect. Every family has a different approach to how they use technology, access the internet and set digital ground rules. Over the years, Google India has made investments to protect families and kids on YouTube, such as launching a dedicated YouTube Kids app, better protecting their privacy, restricting features and improving age restrictions. Recently, Google has announced a ‘new choice’ for parents who think that their pre-teens and teens are ready to explore YouTube with a supervised account.

- James Beser, Director of Product Management, Kids and Family, YouTube

SUPERVISED EXPERIENCES ON YOUTUBE

From our earliest days, YouTube has been a platform for people over 13, and we’ve always recommended that parents co-watch with their kids if they choose to watch YouTube. In 2015, we created YouTube Kids, a safer destination for kids to explore their interests while providing parental controls. But since then, we’ve heard from parents and older children that pre-teens and teens have different needs, which weren’t being fully met by our products. As children grow up, they have an insatiable curiosity and need to gain independence and find new ways to learn, create, and belong.

Over the last year, we’ve worked with parents and experts across the globe in areas related to child safety, child development, and digital literacy to develop a solution for parents of pre-teens and teens. In the coming months, we’ll launch a new experience in beta for parents to allow their children to access YouTube through a supervised Google Account. This supervised experience will come with content settings and limited features. We’ll start with an early beta for families with kids under the age of consent to test and provide feedback, as we continue to expand and improve the experience.

GIVING PARENTS CONTENT OPTIONS ON YOUTUBE

We know that every parent has a different parenting style and that every child is unique and reaches different developmental stages at different times. That’s why we’ll give parents the ability to choose from 3 different content settings on YouTube.