Over the past year, YouTube Kids introduced human-curated channels and allowed parents to whitelist videos after some failings with the algorithm. The service is now coming to Smart Displays, Google Home, and Cast-connected televisions.
YouTube Kids is now available in Assistant’s Videos and Photos menu as a service that can be linked. Casting works by specifying the service in the voice command, and delivers a more child-friendly experience. Catering to preschool and elementary school kids, the older content level setting is unavailable.
While YouTube Kids is already available on Android TV, as well as LG, Samsung, and Sony Smart TVs, today’s integration is for all other users. A walkthrough process on your phone specifies the safety benefits and will allow parents to set up the service.
On Google Home, YouTube Kids lacks some features found on Android and iOS, including profiles, flagging, and disabling search, as well as pausing search and watch history.
Today’s launch ties-in with the availability of Digital Wellbeing on Google Home and Smart Displays. Specifically, users can setup a Filter to “designate YouTube Kids as the only video service available for your children.” It also supports a “Downtime” mode to disable commands during certain specified hours of the day.
Google Accounts managed with Family Link already have access to these settings, but YouTube Kids can be easily setup without it on general Google Accounts. Google further notes that an audio-only mode is not supported.
Like any other Assistant service, users can verbally Cast YouTube Kids to a Chromecast-connected TV via a Google Home device. It is available on Smart Displays, just in time for this week’s launch of the Google Home Hub.
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