Home » YouTube opens to children, now the Google Account also supervises the videos

YouTube opens to children, now the Google Account also supervises the videos

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IT’S TRUE, YouTube has been launching its standalone platform for children up to 13, YouTube Kids, for six years now. But the content that appeals to a 12-year-old isn’t the same as a first-grade user. For this reason YouTube, one of the platforms that have invested more than others to try to comply first and better with the rules on minors envisaged by the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and then, for some years now, with those prescribed by the European General Regulation for the protection of personal data, adds a piece to your strategy. A new option for parents who believe their preteens and teens are ready to explore YouTube – the main platform, not its twin for toddlers – via a supervised account.

“From the very beginning, YouTube has been a platform aimed at users over the age of 13 and, if children want to use the platform, we always recommend that parents do it with them,” explains the group in an official blog post. Thus underlining the need to use YouTube Kids (where some problems have not been lacking, over the years) but also taking note of how that container, after ten years, no longer seems too appropriate to the interests of digital natives: “Parents and older children have signaled to us that pre-adolescent and adolescent users have different needs, which our products did not completely satisfy – as confirmed by San Bruno – growing up, children show an insatiable curiosity and a need to acquire more independence by finding new ways to learn, create and develop a sense of belonging “. In short, cartoon and other clips selected at some point, are not good. Yet the platform cannot be used over the age of 13. How to do?

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YouTube adds to the Supervised Google Account options

The solution lies in a new tool that will allow parents to provide YouTube access to their children through a supervised Google Account. Opening one for your child under 13 is obviously already possible, within the Family Link options. The point is that until now through that account there was no way to grant and control access to YouTube. Only search, apps on Google Play, Android devices, Gmail and Chrome email could be controlled. Now this possibility is added: a gateway to the largest video platform in the world with over two billion users. The update launched today is in beta and it will take weeks, or perhaps a few months, to be able to use it anywhere. The supervised experience, which will be improved over time by taking into account feedback from parents and teens, includes limited content settings and functionality for a preteen and teen audience.

YouTube, Machine learning takes the field to respect age limits



The three bands of videos: Explore, Explore More and Most of YouTube

There are three possible ranges for letting children use YouTube, three different types of settings relating to the content that can be viewed. The first is called “Explore” and is designed for children who are ready to leave YouTube Kids but with extreme caution. It provides a wide range of videos generally suitable for viewers aged 9 and over, such as vlogs, tutorials, gaming videos, music clips, news, educational content and more.

Then there is the “Explore more” range: it allows the display of content generally suitable for viewers aged 13 and over and includes a wider set of videos as well as live streams, in the same categories available for “Explore”. Finally, there is the last level, the most permissive one, which is called “Most of YouTube”: this setting includes the ability to see almost all videos on YouTube, with the exception of those with content subject to age limits, “And includes sensitive topics that may only be suitable for an older teen audience.”

As always, YouTube uses a mix of technologies to categorize the sea magnum of content that populates it: a combination of user input, machine learning, and physical person review to determine which videos to include or exclude from the three bands (and in general to be maintained or removed from the entire YouTube ecosystem, one of the few spared by the recent investigations by the Privacy Guarantor that have touched TikTok but also Facebook, Instagram and other social networks).

All free, then? Not exactly. We must always stay close to their children: “We are aware of the fact that our systems will make mistakes and constantly evolve over time – they explain from California – we advise parents not to stop accompanying and supporting their children in their YouTube experience. To help parents get started, we’ve developed a guide in partnership with the National PTA, Parent Zone, and Live the Internet at its best. We will also launch an ongoing campaign in which creators will address issues such as bullying and harassment, disinformation, digital wellbeing and more ”.

The other settings: history, searches and time limits

With the new feature linked to the Supervised Account, parents will also be able to manage the history of views and searches from their children’s account settings. And of course they will also be able to take advantage of the other controls offered by Google’s Family Link system for other products, such as limits for the time of use. Over time, new parental control features dedicated to YouTube will arrive, such as the ability to block specific content.

“Children are curious about the world around them and YouTube can spark their interest and imagination,” he explains Jackie Marsh from the University of Sheffield School of Education in the UK – these experiences are important for the development of the global citizens of the future. YouTube has shown a real commitment to ensuring that children can access content in an appropriate way as they grow up, a way of promoting independence and trust. With this new experience it will also be important that parents take an active interest in the content their children watch, helping them to get the most out of it. “

No personalized advertising, stop in-app purchases and comments

Not only that: if the children’s experience will be very close to that of the standard platform, some features will be deactivated precisely to protect the younger audience. For example, children will not see personalized advertisements, nor advertisements that fall into certain categories. In short, advertising will remain generic and not profiled. In-app purchases will also be disabled, as well as functions related to the creation of content and comments. Obviously creating videos and publishing them is the heart of YouTube, and the passion that drives many to take the leap and upload their own clips, so those creative features will come over time, always based on the judgments and opinions of parents.

For everyone else, it remains YouTube Kids

For everyone else, the little ones but also those who are not quite ready to make the leap towards a more demanding experience, it is better to continue to opt for YouTube Kids: available in over 80 countries, including Italy since 2018, it is currently used by over 35 million viewers per week. And in the future, parents will be able to make a mix, i.e. select some videos or channels from the main YouTube platform and make them available within Kids.

“In designing this experience aimed at parents of preteens and adolescents, we know that there is still a long way to go – concludes YouTube – we hope that, over time, it will offer older children a safer environment to explore their interests, acquire new skills and get in touch with communities that share their passions, while providing parents with more ways to accompany their children’s online experience “.

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